Mary Kay at Play Bold Fluid Eyeliners in Gold Metal, the Real Teal, Blue My Mind and Hello Violet

Yet another Mary Kay launch for Spring! I don't wear colour everyday but if you've been reading me for a while, you know I like to play (see Mika for Shu, Katy Perry, etc.). The new Mary Kay at Play Bold Fluid Eyeliners ($12) in Gold Metal, the Real Teal, Blue My Mind and Hello Violet are the perfect gateway into experimenting with coloured cosmetics. 

The applicator is actually a pointed sponge. I don't find it to be as perfect is a felt tip of the Lancome Artliner for one-swipe colour payoff, but it's equally as precise. It takes a while for the liner to dry. I have to be careful not to blink too much or else I get coloured smudges on my eyelid. When it does dry, it'll stay until you feel like taking it off (and it's easy to remove). 

The colour payoff of each liner translates differently onto the eyes. The Mary Kay at Play Bold Fluid Eyeliners in Gold Metal and the Real Teal are much more vibrant than the other two. In fact, the Real Teal is so bright that it stains my lids slightly.

Gold Metal

The Real Teal 

Blue My Mind

Hello Violet

Overall, decently priced coloured liner, perfect if you want to go bold for the summer. Perhaps I'll make an attempt at the bold coloured liner paired with a black winged liner. Other than that, I'll be reserving these goodies for my "special" make-up looks. 

How do you wear coloured eyeliner? 

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Mary Kay at Play Triple Layer Tinted Balms in Pink Again, Orange You Lovely and In the Plum

A week and a bit has passed since my last lip product review and nothing has changed. Sheer lip products are still all the rage. New from Mary Kay are the At Play Triple Layer Tinted Balms ($12 CAD/$10 USD) in 4 shades - Pink Again, Orange You Lovely, In the Plum, and Atomic Red.

I'm not a fan of the Mary Kay At Play packaging. Though it is geared to a more youthful audience, the white and clear plastic tubes look cheap. On the brightside, it's not flimsy - the clear lid snaps into place to prevent you from getting lip balm all over your bag. 

The Mary Kay at Play Triple Layer Tinted Balms are smooth in texture and the balm is slightly hard compared to something like chapstick or vaseline. Colour payoff is minimal, as expected, since it's a sheer balm. Each of the balms seem to have a slight shimmer that is not noticeable on the lips. The lightest colour (Pink Again) is too light for me - the pale pink emphasizes dry patches on my lips, but other two colours glide over my lips without fault. As balms, these aren't long lasting but don't require a mirror to reapply. 

Pink Again

Orange You Lovely

In the Plum

While the Mary Kay at Play Triple Layer Tinted Balms are a good product, at $12 they're a bit costly for what they are, as the drugstore (Maybelline, NYC, CoverGirl) has many similar offerings for a fraction of the price.

Do you have a favourite tinted lip balm? 

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Shu Uemura Duo Custom Case and Pressed Eyeshadows in M813 and M851

Lately, Shu Uemura has made many appearances on fun size beauty, mainly because the simplicity and quality of a Japanese aesthetic is new to me and intrigues me, but also because new and exciting opportunities have arisen, so thank you for your support of this blog :). That being said, today is a review of the Shu Uemura Duo Custom Case and Pressed Eyeshadows in M813 (matte light beige) and M851 (matte soft brown). 

I can't get over how perfect the packaging is. It's not overly exquisite or extravagant, just plain, sleek, and useful. It's like the Z-Palette but smaller and sturdy and plastic or the Revlon Shadowlinks but better looking. As someone who wears only a couple eyeshadows on a daily basis, the convenience of putting two into a customized palette is ingenious. Plus, if you're into a little more (or less) variety in your eyeshadows, the Shu Uemura Custom Cases come in three mono ($8), duo ($11), quad ($17). Blushes can take up the space of two eyeshadows and you can do the math from here. 

The only caveat is that you can probably only fit Shu Uemura products of which the prices are only $5 more than MAC. Pressed Eye Shadows, Cream Shadows, Creamy Eye Shadow Primers are all available for $19 each and the Glow on Blushes for $22. 

$11 + $19 + $19 = $49 makes for a pricey palette. You're probably thinking, "What the heck? Are those shadows even worth $19 each?!?!". You know what? I'm not sure. There are over 50 options in either matte, metallic, glitter, pearl, or iridescent finishes and I've only tried two mattes - m 813 matte light beige and m 851 matte soft brown. 

What I am sure is that the two Shu Uemura eyeshadows I've tried were pretty awesome for what they were. It's hard to find a non-chalky light beige-white colour and m 813 matte light beige is a great option. m 851 matte soft brown is another good neutral option, the perfect blending/crease shade on my light-medium skin. The colours are pigmented, soft, blendable without fallout, and go with every other coloured shadow that I own. They're comparable to something like Too Faced, so they seem to be slightly overpriced.

There's nothing outstanding about the two shadows  - both shades are staple neutrals of which you could likely find dupes elsewhere. If you're into luxury shadows with travel-friendly packaging, perhaps this is a good fit for you. As of now, I have very similar colours in my collection, but love the convenience of the customized packaging so this isn't necessarily for me.  Then again, I haven't tried the other colours and finishes so who is to say that it isn't... 

Have you tried Shu Uemura single eyeshadows? What do you think of the packaging? 

Press samples featured for a post on the Fashion Magazine Beauty Panel.

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Revlon Nail Enamel in Posh

At first glance, I thought this polish would not suit me. The Revlon Nail Enamel in Posh (~$4.99) is a vibrant true green. For some reason, I think that cool colours, with the exception of purples (so green and blue), look bad on my fingertips. I've been proven wrong several times and this is just another one of those times. 

Revlon polishes are very on point for the price. The formula of the Revlon Nail Enamel in Posh is thin yet opaque in 2 quick coats. Dry time is neither slow nor fast - patience is always a virtue when it comes to polishes. Furthermore, the wear-time is also average at 2-3 days without chipping, easily extended by use of a top coat. 

What isn't average is the colour. I'm really enjoying the pop of colour that this "in-your-face" green brings to my nails. Every time I wear green I remind myself that green is the colour of money, trees, grass, and Kermit the Frog. Green is a pretty colour and boy, am I feeling posh when I wear it. 

Are there any colours that you think look "bad" on your fingertips? 

Special thanks to Natalie of Ivory Avenue for sending this lovely polish to me. :) 

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Etude House & Rose Drawing Show Creamy Pencil Liner in Sunset Brown

I'll always choose pencil liner over liquids. There's more room for error - you can sharpen the pencil to a precise tip and any mistake can be fixed with a little smudging for a more sultry eyeliner look. For this purpose, the Etude House & Rose Drawing Show Creamy Pencil in Sunset Brown ($11.99 on ibuybeauti) is the perfect eyeliner. 

For reference claims include "creamy texture and amazing adhesion, waterproof and long-lasting"

There are 4 colours available - BE103 Creamy Rose (nude) , PP501 Dust Purple (mauve purple), RD304 After Blossom (deep pink), and BR404 Sunset Brown (warm chocolate brown). There's no staple black, white, or taupey brown colours in sight. While the selection isn't the best, the shades that are available are on the unique side of eyeliner colours. 

The Etude House & Rose Drawing Show Creamy Pencil in Sunset Brown comes in no box, just some simple plastic wrap. The pencil casing and lid is made of a plastic material, much more reliable than the clear plastic caps of North American pencil liners that break easily and annoy me to no end. It's your standard pencil liner. 

If I were to change one thing about this liner, I would want it to be twist-up because twist-ups are 1,000x more efficient and time-saving than busting out the sharpener every time I want a precise tip. 

Sunset Brown is a rich, warm brown shade. The pencil is very smooth and soft in texture and (thankfully) doesn't pull at the eyelid during application. The liner sets quite quickly (within a minute) but can be easily blended out for a softer effect. 

As someone with extremely oily skin and hooded eyelids, I can truly appreciate this eyeliner. One of my biggest beauty issues is that I'll apply a pencil liner on my top lashline and by the middle of the day, I'll have not just one line of liner on my lashline, but most liners will transfer into an awkward line in my crease. The Etude House & Rose Drawing Show Creamy Pencil liner does not do this. It stays put all day long until I feel like taking it off and it's not at all hard to remove. 

Overall, a great pencil liner. Disregarding the lack of colour selection, the only factor that could possibly prevent you from purchasing the & Rose Drawing Show Creamy Pencils is the price, but the staying power and creaminess is always preferred over hard, crumbly eyeliners (wet n wild) or overly creamy racoon-eye-inducing eyeliners (urban decay) which makes this liner pencil totally worth it. 

What's your favourite basic pencil liner? 

Press sample featured. This post was originally written for beautifan.com

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Mary Kay Limited Edition Honeydew Satin Hands Pampering Set

My boyfriend has the grossest hands. I love him and all, but his hands are all prickly and weird because he enjoys going to the gym to lift weights without gloves on a daily basis. Calluses and dry skin, oh my... Sometimes, it makes me cringe to hold his hands. But not after he tried the Mary Kay Satin Hands Pampering Set ($51). For myself, this set smells delicious and makes my hands feel so smooth and hydrated. I'm definitely going to attempt to persuade force the boyf. to use this regularly. 

The Mary Kay Honeydew Satin Hands Pampering Set is a limited edition set (available until August 15th, 2014) of three products - the Mary Kay fragrance-free hand softener, Mary Kay honeydew satin smoothie hand scrub, and Mary Kay satin hands honeydew hand cream (plus a little eco-friendly bag). In essence, it's a three-step process to baby's butt hands. 

Mary Kay Satin Hands Fragrance-free Hand Softener

Right out of the tube, this product looks a bit like vaseline. It does, in fact, contain Petrolatum (also in Vaseline) as well as Hydrogenated Soy Glyceride to maintain the natural moisture of the skin and replenish dry areas. When warmed up with the friction and heat of the hands, it becomes a little more oily and emollient. It's easy to spread around evenly and the tiniest bit goes miles and miles. Despite being "fragrance-free", it has a light honeydew scent similar to the other two products. 

Mary Kay Satin Hands Honeydew Satin Smoothie Hand Scrub

This is the "exfoliating" part of the process. It's not overly abrasive but it's strong enough to schluff of dead skin from dry hands. This is probably the most fun/enjoyable part. After rinsing the product off, my hands feel incredibly smooth. This product smells quite strongly of sweet, sweet honeydew, so if you're not into that, watch out! 

Mary Kay Satin Hands Honeydew Hand Cream 

Last but certainly not least is the moisturizer. It's quite lightweight and claims 24 hrs of moisture. 24 is pushing it. It's more like 5-6 hours of moisture. This one is also very aromatic but fades away within the first hour. 

Together, the three products make a stellar tag team for soft satin hands. The Mary Kay Limited Edition Honeydew Satin Hands Pampering Set is set a higher price point at $51, so definitely not a "must-have" ... but a nice-to-have indeed. Soft hands are always appreciated in my little bubble and this would make the perfect pampering/spa day gift for a friend (or yourself!). 

Do you have any secrets to super soft hands? 

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Mary Kay Mineral Eye Colors in Ballerina Pink, Stone, Driftwood, Rosegold and French Roast

The thought of purchasing single eyeshadows never crosses my mind. Singles are messy. I'm a simpleton when it comes to eyeshadow - a well-curated neutrals palette is all I need for everyday. Then there's customizable palettes, which is the best of both worlds - choose your own eyeshadows and then place them into a convenient little palette. 

Mary Kay makes it easy with the Mary Kay Mineral Eye Colors ($8 each, $22 for empty palette). The 1.4g shadow comes in a little plastic case, ready for easy depotting. From neutral browns to limes, there are 40+ colours to choose from. This Spring Mary Kay has launched 5 new shades of eyeshadow - Ballerina Pink, Stone, Driftwood, Rosegold and French Roast.

Ballerina Pink - matte - pastel light pink

Stone - matte - purple-toned medium grey 

Driftwood - matte - neutral medium brown 

Rosegold - shimmer - bronze with golden shimmer (unfortunately, there's no "rose" tones)

French Roast - shimmer - dark coffee brown with golden shimmer

The Good: The swatches above are a quick swirl into the pot and one swipe on my arm. In other words, they're highly pigmented and buttery soft. Other than Ballerina Pink, the mattes are not at all chalky, and the shimmers are stunning. My favourite is definitely Rosegold. It's by no means unique but it's versatile and can be used all over the lid or as a crease or liner colour. 

The Bad: Ballerina Pink is a tad chalky and sheer compared the pigmentation of the other colours. Perhaps $8 is a bit expensive for you but considering the price of Urban Decay shadows ($22), the Mary Kay Mineral Eye Colors are reasonable, especially for the quality. Other than that, I'm at a loss for words. These are lovely eyeshadows.

Single eyeshadows, palettes, or custom palettes? Which do you prefer? 

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