MAC Mineralize Charged Water Skin Hydrating Mist Review

Happy Friday!

I’m back with another MAC review and not to mention a SPOT-ON dupe for the Smashbox Primer Water – read my review of that here. The ingredients are almost identical; they smell the same, they perform the same, I would say that it is pretty much the same thing.

I love using charged water as a primer because it gives me a little bit of moisture and tackiness without a layer of unnecessary product under my foundation. I do go in with a pore filler on my cheeks but I love spraying this all over my face – it’s quick and easy.

I prefer this packaging to the Smashbox one because the spray locks – it is the same packaging as the Fix +.This product is about $10 CAD cheaper than the Smashbox Primer Water however, the Smashbox contains 115ml, where as this contains 100ml. They both perform the same and have a really pleasant mild scent which quickly absorbs and disappears. I like using this over makeup as well – it settles down the powders that I layer over foundation.

Overall, I highly recommend this and I’m glad I found such a close dupe! Seriously couldn’t believe that they are essentially the same product almost!

Have you tried this or the Smashbox Primer Water? Let me know down below!

Click here to purchase the Charcoal one (couldn’t find the regular online for some reason).

MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour Review + Swatches

Happy Monday everyone!

I really don’t reach for liquid lipsticks at all anymore because they dry out my already-dry lips and they crumple, flake and wear horribly throughout the day. However, this formula by MAC is definitely worth a try if your like me and avoid liquid lipsticks at all costs!

Excuse the out-of-focus picture above but I wanted to show you the shape of the applicator. It is super easy to get a nice sharp edge with it and I’m able to over-line my lips, which I slightly do everyday without going in with a lip liner! The applicator makes applying this super fast and easy. The formula itself feels like nothing on your lips and I’m not exaggerating! It’s feather light; that you forget that you have lipstick on and that’s amazing for a matte liquid lipstick. It’s also much more forgiving on dry patches than other formulas I’ve tried; it doesn’t exaggerate and cling to it.

This lipstick fades away nicely; it doesn’t crumble but rather fades evenly throughout the day and after eating. It’s transfer-proof just like most other liquid lipstick formulas and is removable with oil.

MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour in shade: Cafe Au Chic
Fresh application on top, dried down on bottom

As you can see from the swatches above; this formula dries down much darker so beware of that. It takes a minute or two to fully dry down. I really like this formula and will definitely get other shades!

What do you guys think about liquid lipsticks? Are you over them?

Click here to purchase.

MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil Review + Swatches (Lip Pencil vs Pro Longwear Lip Pencil)

Welcome back everyone!

Today I have a few MAC lip liners to review for you guys. Three of them being the Pro Longwear formula and the third one down is the regular Lip Pencil. I got the three Pro Longwears in a set a while back and bought the regular lip pencil a couple weeks ago because I wanted to compare formulas.

I usually stick with neutral shades when it comes to lip liners because I can make them work with a variety of lipstick shades. The bright pink shade (Good Timing) came in the pack of three and I don’t think I will be using this much/at all but I bought it anyway because I love the two other shades (Morning Coffee & Absolutely It).

A difference that you can see right away is that the regular Lip Pencil formula is a bit stiffer and not as creamy. It’s a wooden pencil which requires sharpening but you don’t need to sharpen as much as the Pro Longwear formula because it doesn’t dull as easily due to it being stiffer. The Pro Longwear is much more pigmented and creamy but doesn’t build the best; if you try to deepen the shade the formula starts to look and feel heavy and dry. Also, this formula can dry up slightly after time because the product is loose in the plastic pencil (it can break and fall right out of the pencil). So they both have their pros and cons; the most important one that I have to mention is that the Pro Longwear stays on much longer and can survive a greasy meal without completely rubbing off.

Swatched top to bottom: Stripdown (Lip Pencil), Morning Coffee, Absolutely It and Good Timing (all Pro Longwear Lip Pencils).

After rubbing on hand consecutively for 2 minutes straight.

As you can probably tell by looking at the photo above that the regular formula was almost completely rubbed off while the Pro Longwear has stayed on well with a bit of fading.

So which one is my favourite you ask? Honestly, I like both, but I may lean towards the Pro Longwear because of it’s longevity.

Which one is your favourite?

Click here to view product.

MAC Extra Dimension SkinFinish Double Gleam Review + Swatch

Hello again!

I’m so excited for this review because I think I’ve found the perfect highlighter for very fair skin tones! Before using this I was obsessed with the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Champagne Pop – click here to see my review on it. But I started to think that it might be too deep for me and maybe I need to try something lighter and brighter. In that post you can see that the second swatch is super peachy compared to my pale skin tone.

I really wanted to try a highlighter from MAC since I’ve heard good things and when I saw this shade (Double Gleam) I thought it would compliment my skin tone really well. The packaging is very simple and it contains 9g of product which is slightly more than a standard highlighter.

Online this product is described as a liquid-powder highlighter that is long-wearing (up to 10 hours to be exact). This shade in particular is described as a beige that breaks silver. Honestly, I’m not sure why the word “liquid” is mentioned as this powder may be silky and smooth but isn’t a liquid to powder consistency. I agree that it’s super long wearing; it really does last the whole day on my cheeks. Lastly, the color is gorgeous! It’s a pretty beige, almost rose gold shade and when the light hits it, it turns to a bright reflective silver.

MAC Extra Dimension SkinFinish Double Gleam Swatched.

I’ve found my current favourite highlighter! Great formula, long lasting, and the shade is perfect for me. What do you guys think?

Click here to purchase.

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer Review + Swatches

Hi everyone!

This concealer was talked about so much a couple of years ago until other products stole the lime light. I never got to try this out until recently and thought I would give my review on it to remind you guys that this is a pretty awesome concealer!

This concealer is packaged in a very unique way – I don’t have any other concealer that comes in a glass bottle with a tiny pump. I’ve heard the horror stories of people dropping this and shattering the glass so I will not be carrying this in my purse or travelling with it. The pump is nice however, you can’t control the amount you pump out. It’s either a full pump or nothing and for me this isn’t a big deal because that’s the perfect amount for my under eyes, eyelids, and to highlight the chin/forehead.

There are a bunch of claims online about this product being long wearing (15hrs) while also being transfer and water resistant. I do find this concealer to be incredibly long wearing; it does not fade after a full day. It stays looking the same; doesn’t crease when set with powder or look dry after a few hours. The product is described to have a full matte coverage and I would give this an almost full coverage with a soft matte finish. It feels incredibly light weight under the eyes and I’m guessing that’s because this is a liquid consistency.

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NC15. One pump on back of hand.

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NC15. Spread out slightly to show undertone and coverage. This particular shade is very fair with a light yellow undertone.

This is a really nice concealer so if you haven’t found a concealer that you are happy with this is definitely worth a try! And if you already own this, pull it out and start using it again!

Have you tried the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer? What did you think?

Click here to purchase.

MAC Prep + Prime Fix+ (Rose, Coconut, Lavender) Review

Hello again!

I purchased this set a while ago and wasn’t going to do a review on it since this is a limited edition set (Snow Ball collection) that MAC came out with during the holidays. However, once I heard that they made these scents permanent I knew I wanted to talk about them!

I had stayed clear from setting sprays in general for a while because I had bad experiences with a few products that I will review soon. Some have a horrible nozzle and tend to spray blobs of liquid onto your face, some have horrible scents, and some just do absolutely nothing for you. So when I saw this set I’m not going to lie; I was excited because of the different scents and bought it right away.

The first time I tried this, it was on bare skin and I liked how it sunk in and gave a slight glow/dewy-ness to my skin. Bare in mind that I currently have dehydrated (due to dry/cold Canadian winter) but very oily skin. I then tried this out once I had done a full face of makeup and I realized that this just smoothed out my foundation and settled down my powder and just gave a nice creamy effect to my skin. I did not feel that this prolonging my makeup nor did I expect it to. I know this has moisturizing properties and I just wanted it to freshen my makeup or to give some moisture to my skin on no makeup days, which it did and therefore I’m happy with it.

The Rose scent is very pleasant and not too crazy overpowering. The lavender is nice and mild even though it has to be my least favourite out of the three. The coconut scent is my favourite! – though the color is the least attractive. The mist is very fine and isn’t too harsh (distributes evenly) and I love how this little set allows you to try them all. Each bottle has 30ml of product.

What is your favourite scent? Let me know down below!

Click here to view product.

MAC Zac Posen Collection Lipstick Review + Swatch

Hello again!

Today I’m doing a review on this lipstick from the Spring 2016 MAC X Zac Posen collection. I have seen these limited edition products being sold online (eBay, Amazon) and in store (warehouse sales) and so I thought that a review might be helpful if you happen to spot this somewhere.

Firstly, the packaging of this lipstick is a bit bulky but I like the shape and feel of it. This has a very sweet cupcake scent which I enjoy; I don’t feel that it is over powering. The formula is very similar to that of a lip balm as it glides on the lips and feels moisturizing. It lasts for a few hours if you do not eat or drink but it isn’t at all long wearing.

Swatched on my hand below; the iridescence that this shade has is not detectable in the photo below but this lipstick has a beautiful pink/gold shine to it that would suit every skin tone. This shade really doesn’t have much color at all; just a nice shine so it can be used as a lipstick or lipliner topper.

Would I recommend this for the full price? – No, but if you happen to find this on sale somewhere and you need something like this then yes, I would recommend it.

Have you tried anything from this collection?

Click here to purchase from eBay.

MAC Mineralize Rich Lipstick Labradorable Review + Swatches

Hi everyone!

I was super curious to try a different formula of lipstick from MAC and this looked interesting because it is a mineral lipstick that claims to be super moisturizing.

I love the packaging; it is a bit bulky but it has a magnetic closure and looks sleek with the matte and shiny black. I also love wearing deep purple/wine shades in the winter and wanted something moisturizing that wouldn’t suck the life out of my lips in the colder months.

The lipstick itself feels extremely balmy and is very soft and creamy however, the pigment is underwhelming. In one swipe (see picture below) I get a very light uneven pigmentation; there is a lot of product on my hand but it’s a clear balm. However it can be built up to a nice shade but the amount of product on the bottom swatch is crazy it would feel so weird on the lips and not to mention bleed outside of the lines at the first movement.

I do like the feeling of this and perhaps this formula doesn’t work well with such a dark shade. I could see this working much better with a nude shade. It claims to be long lasting but this formula doesn’t stay on very long, however this dark shade does leave a nice pink stain.

Unfortunately this formula in this shade was a let-down for me; I was expecting much more. e.l.f. has great mineral lipsticks that are super pigmented and moisturizing and not to mention only $3.00!

What is your favourite mineral lipstick?

Click here to purchase.

MAC Eye Brows Crayon in Stylized Review + Swatches

Hello everyone!

I realized that I use the same brow products everyday and hardly experiment with new brow pencils or brow gels. I’ve seen amazing reviews online on this brow pencil so I was excited to give it a try!

First off, the packaging is decent – it is a mechanical pencil that is “self-sharpening” which basically means it’s very thin so there is no need for sharpening. Once you twist the product up it won’t go back down; lots of mechanical brow pencils are like that so watch out! I like that it is very thin so I can draw “hair-like” strokes; the end result is much more natural than a brow pomade or a thicker pencil. The downside of the packaging is that it doesn’t contain a spoolie on the other side which I think is essential.

The color that I got is described on the website as “brown” with no indication of the undertone so I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, this brown has a slight warm undertone but isn’t as pronounced if you run this very lightly on the brows. The actual product is slightly dry and waxy so you need decent pressure to get pigmentation which isn’t so bad in my opinion because it prevents the infamous “sharpie brow”. The lasting power of this brow pencil is great – doesn’t fade or smudge the entire day!

MAC Eye Brows Crayon in “Stylized”. One layer on top swatch, multiple layers on bottom swatch.

Overall, I think this is a good brow pencil but I think I prefer the Etude House brow pencil over this; better price and a better shade for me.

What is your current brow routine (products)?

Click here to purchase item.

MAC Mineralize Foundation Review + Swatch

Hello everyone!

I know that this review is on a foundation but my review will be based on how it works as a cream bronzer (hence the darker shade). I have been wanting a long-wearing cream foundation to layer under my bronzer so that my bronzer can last more than just a few hours and I think I have found the perfect product!

After applying my primer, foundation and concealer, I apply this to the areas where I would bronze. I then set my entire face with translucent powder and then follow up with a powder bronzer on top and continue the rest of my routine. This product melts so nicely into the skin; it looks incredibly natural. It has a hydrating/satin – almost dewy finish that I like in a bronzer because it gives me a healthy glow. It is suppose to be long-wearing (8 hours) and I definitely notice that my bronzer is lasting all day with minimal fading. This product is also non-acnegenic and dermatologist tested.

The packaging is sturdy, comes with a mirror and has a sponge underneath the product so it is definitely travel friendly.

MAC Mineralize Foundation NC35

Overall, I really enjoy using this as a cream bronzer; I may even get this in my own shade to use as foundation but I’m not sure how it would work because I have a very oily skin type and this is targeted towards dry/mature skin.

Have you tried this (or any Mac) foundation?

Click here to view website.