Clinique Chubby Stick Intense Moisturizing Lip Colour Balms

As you may know, I initially wasn't a huge fan of Clinique's original Chubby Sticks. Not that I couldn't appreciate why there is a market for them, or that I didn't understand why some people love them. The idea of a lip product in a crayon barrel is now widely imitated, and Clinique is the company that popularized it. I guess I just wasn't impressed with what it is given the price point. I mean, I get that it's a glorified tinted lip balm, but it just didn't do it for me. The colour pay-off was almost too sheer (honestly, I got the brightest shades and they just barely tinted my lips), I didn't find it particularly moisturizing, and the packaging certainly isn't luxurious. And maybe I just got a bad batch or something, but mine actually smelled plasticky (I understand that Clinique is 100% fragrance-free, but I also don't want to smell the actual ingredients used in it, you know?). Like, it was almost gag-worthy. Anyway, my point is, when Clinique announced the release of their Chubby Stick Intense, I got curious. Especially when all the rave reviews starting rolling out. So, I went to my local Clinique counter to swatch them, and let's just say... I think I changed my mind about the Chubby Stick. 
Heftiest Hibiscus, Mightiest Maraschino, Plushest Punch, and Grandest Grape
Clinique describes their new Chubby Stick Intense Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm as "a soft cushion of colour that's not quite sheer, not quite opaque — just the perfect happy medium." The formula is infused with "mango and shea butters so lips feel comfortably soft and smooth." Currently, they are available in eight colours. They are scent- and taste-free. Each Chubby Stick Intense comes in shade-matched self-sharpening "crayon" barrels, contains 3 grams of product, and retails for $19.
Heftiest Hibiscus, Mightiest Maraschino, Plushest Punch, and Grandest Grape

Heftiest Hibiscus is a medium vibrant reddened orange with a glossy sheen. This is a permanent shade. The texture is creamy and balm-like, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and nearly opaque colour pay-off. It is less orange and less bright than MAC Korean Candy Sheen Supreme Lipstick, more red and brighter than MAC So Chaud, and more orange than Revlon Candy Apple Lip Butter. 

Mightiest Maraschino is a medium vibrant cool-toned cherry red with a glossy sheen. This is a permanent shade. The texture is creamy and balm-like, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and nearly opaque colour pay-off. It is similar to MAC New Temptation Sheen Supreme Lipstick, lighter than MAC MAC Red, and brighter and darker than Revlon Cherry Tart Lip Butter. 

Plushest Punch is a medium vibrant reddened pink with a glossy sheen. This is a permanent shade. The texture is creamy and balm-like, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and nearly opaque colour pay-off. It is slightly warmer than MAC Insanely It Sheen Supreme Lipstick, more reddened than MAC Speak Louder, and warmer than Revlon Lollipop Lip Butter. 

Grandest Grape is a medium-dark berry-plum with a glossy sheen. This is a permanent shade. The texture is creamy and balm-like, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and nearly opaque colour pay-off. It is darker and more plum than MAC Quite The Thing! Sheen Supreme Lipstick, lighter than MAC Rebel, and much cooler and more purple than Revlon Red Velvet Lip Butter.

Whereas the original Chubby Stick is more for those who love natural-looking lip shades, these are for people who love colour. I would actually say these are more on the opaque side than a "happy medium" like Clinique claims. I like that these are creamy but don't have a lot of slip. As a result, they also wear a bit longer on the lips — about four to five hours before fading. I also felt like these kept my lips soft both during wear and after as well. Grandest Grape stains a little bit after wear, but I have to note that these aren't really comparable to Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, which really, really stain the lips (even after swiping with a make-up remover). Compared to the Balm Stains, these are also more pigmented, more hydrating, and have a creamier consistency. These are almost like a hybrid between Revlon's Balm Stains and Lip Butters, but more pigmented. So, basically, these are instant loves for me. If you liked the concept of the Chubby Stick but wanted better colour pay-off, Clinique finally delivered!

Survey Says...

This week's Survey Says... from Temptalia:

Favourite mint green polish?

Illamasqua Milf, Butter London Bossy Boots, and Butter London Fiver

Favourite forest green eyeshadow?

MAC Humid and Bottle Green (PRO)

Favourite grass green eyeliner? Believe it or not, I don't have any grass green eyeliners. I think the only one I had was MAC's Emerald Sea Powerpoint Pencil from last summer's Hey, Sailor! collection... but I don't know where mine went. 

China Glaze & Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away: Nail Lacquer in Water You Waiting For

Apparently, my love for sparkle triumphs over everything, because here I am once again, pushing cream polishes aside to make way for more glitter. In rare act of self-control, I ordered only three shades from the China Glaze Cirque du Soleil collection after filtering through the dozens of online reviews and swatches. I felt that the majority of the shades from this collection, while fun and colourful, were shades that we'd seen before, so I only picked up the ones that I felt were the most unique. After trying and loving It's A Trap-Eze!, I decided to try the other glitter I picked up. I swear, I'm going to go back to creams after this.


Water You Waiting For is a sheer medium blue jelly base with cerulean blue, indigo blue, purple, and emerald green glitter, shimmer, and micro-shimmer. It has a fluid consistency without being too thick or too runny. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any pulling, bubbling, or streaking. Due to the intense amount of shimmer and glitter, it will reach opacity in two medium coats. It is similar to Nicole by OPI's Kendall on the Katwalk, with perhaps less purple shimmer. Often, nail polish companies will try to group colours together to try to create a more unique or unexpected shade, but it ends up looking odd (e.g. ugly). But this is a prime example of colours working well together to create an even more stunning, more dimensional shade. It represents Cirque du Soleil perfectly; you somehow get lost in its oceanic beauty, like it's underwater magic.

Heartthrob

I had pre-ordered Tegan and Sara's Heartthrob on iTunes a few weeks ago and finally got to download it tonight (it is officially released in-stores tomorrow). I don't normally write about album releases on this blog, but I have been waiting for them to come out with a new album for four years and could not contain my excitement. When they released their first single, "Closer," in September, I was instantly hooked; it was probably their catchiest song to date. Then they released the audio for the song, "I'm Not Your Hero," on YouTube. And I loved that song even more than "Closer." I wondered if the rest of their seventh studio album would be as catchy or fulfilling as those two songs. Now that I've listened to the album in full several times, I can safely say: Heartthrob was worth waiting four years for.

If you are expecting the raw, acoustic Tegan and Sara of yesteryear, be prepared to be surprised. If It Was You, So Jealous, and The Con will always have a place in my heart; they all have an indie-folk appeal that I love, that I grew up with and made many memories to. But Heartthrob comes as a beautiful contrast to their previous works. It embraces electronic and dance pop beats, which comes as no surprise after their collaborations with Morgan Page and Tiësto. While the songs are quintessentially Tegan and Sara both lyrically and instrumentally, they also mixed in infectious synth beats that make you want to get up and dance, which their previous albums didn't do. You can tell they've grown up; they've found different influences and want to make it heard on this album. Change can be good, and this album proves that. I have been following Tegan and Sara for 14 years now; I first heard of them when I saw them as teenagers playing an acoustic set on Jonovision. At the time, I remember thinking, "Oh, they're pretty good. I hope they make it big one day." And now, after the release of their seventh studio album, the die-hard fans from their early days will have to learn to share them, because they're getting all the attention and popularity they deserve now.

My favourite songs on this album: "Goodbye, Goodbye," "I'm Not Your Hero," "Shock To Your System," and "Guilty As Charged" (this song only comes with Deluxe version of Heartthrob). Conclusion: Get this album. It is so, so, so worth it.

Sunday Video Love: I Know You Care

Taking a small break from my '90s post-grunge phase (which is still going strong) with this video. This song is featured in the movie, Now is Good, hence all the clips from the it... but it's technically an official Ellie Goulding music video. I didn't watch the movie, but this pretty much sums it up. There are very few music videos that have ever made me cry (if ever, really), but this one really tugged on the ol' heartstrings. Maybe it's a bout of ennui, or maybe winter blues... or maybe I'm just PMS-ing. Whatever, sad song is sad.

Julep Maven Box: January 2013

Since I was so pleased with my December Julep Maven Box, which consisted of all things sparkly, I was looking forward to see what Julep had to offer for January. This month, they're featuring "nudes and neons" for their resort collection. Of course, the whole idea behind resort collections started when designers realized they could cash in on wealthy, trendy socialistas who go away to sunny, exotic, beachy locales in the middle of winter only to come back tanned and well-rested so they can mock the rest of us who were stuck braving the negative temperatures to get to work. I am not one for beach resorts, personally (I am only jealous that of the fact that said socialistas can sit outside and smoke on resort patios), but I do love colours that are inspired by them.

I decided to get the "Boho Glam" style box this month, which includes a Hand and Cuticle Stick and two shades of nail polish, to which I added a third shade of nail polish for $4.99. The Hand and Cuticle Stick is an interesting product; it's sort of like an extremely thick hand balm in stick form. I put it on the back of my ultra-chapped hands while on the computer, and my hands look and feel like a baby's bum even after I wash it off. It's a little too heavy and sticky for me to want to use it all the time, but I love using it on the backs of my hands when I'm just sitting around at home. I probably wouldn't spend $22 on it, but it does work wonders on really flaky, dry, cracked skin, and I'm glad I got to try it out with this month's box.

On another note, here are the shades of nail polish I received this month:

Teresa, Fiona, and Nina

Teresa, Fiona, and Nina

Teresa is a light pinked nude beige in a frost finish. It has a fluid consistency without being too thick or too runny. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any pulling, bubbling, or streaking. It has high pigmentation and will reach opacity in two thin-medium coats. It is slightly darker than Essie Intimate, more pink than Essie Imported Bubbly, and slightly lighter and less peach than Zoya Shay.

Fiona is a light-medium vibrant chartreuse green in a satin-cream finish. It has a fluid consistency, but is on the thicker side. It goes on smoothly and evenly and without bubbling or streaking, but because it dries down so fast, it is prone to pulling. It has high pigmentation and will reach opacity in two thin-medium coats. It is lighter and more yellow than China Glaze Def Defying, and less yellow than OPI Did It On 'Em.

Nina is a medium vibrant cantaloupe orange in a satin-cream finish. It has a fluid consistency without being too thick or too runny. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any bubbling or streaking, but because it dries down so fast, it can be prone to pulling. It has high pigmentation and will reach opacity in two thin-medium coats. It is lighter and more yellow than Zoya Arizona, and less bright than Essie Action.

I was kind of surprised by the finish of both Fiona and Nina, because I thought they were both classic creams. But when I was applying them, I realized that they dried down to a satin, almost matte, finish. Fiona was kind of a pain in the ass to use at first, because it would start pulling due to such a fast dry time. But the second coat went on much smoother. I would say that Fiona is a one-coater from pigmentation alone, but because the first coat doesn't go on that evenly, a second coat is necessary. Nina performed better and didn't seem to pull as much as Fiona did, but it's probably because the consistency itself wasn't as thick. Surprisingly, I actually quite liked Teresa. I'm not usually one for nudes, especially ones with a frosted finish, but there is a quiet beauty about this shade. Maybe because it's not quite as reflective or metallic as some other frosted shades, so the brush strokes don't show up as much. It's definitely not my favourite nude (I still prefer cream finishes for nudes), but I can see it being a good option for a more conservative environment — if only I ever got myself into conservative environments. Either way, it had the best formula of the three. Overall, I actually quite like this month's box. The colours remind me of a vibrant fruit salad, which makes me inexplicably happy.

Friday Five: Unusual Stuff

This week's Friday Five:

1. What's the most surprising or unusual thing to be found in your wallet, purse, or backpack? I keep an old Chinese coin in my wallet. My dad told me to keep one there to help protect my money during the Year of the Dragon because he said I would have a lot of "unexpected expenses" and that the old coin would keep all my "money from draining." Similarly, I keep a little jade pig in my purse for luck in general (pigs are lucky for those born in the Year of the Tiger). Odd that I'm so "white-washed" and yet I believe in so many Chinese superstitions...
2. What's the most surprising or unusual thing to be found on your computer's hard drive? Weirdly enough, I don't think there's anything unusual on my hard drive. You'd think I'd at least have some porn or something on there, but I don't. It's just photos that I've taken, some TV shows and movies, all my music files, and the usual documents (cover letter, résumé, old essays from university, etc.). I think maybe the most surprising thing might be a draft of Stephanie Meyer's Midnight Sun (it's basically Twilight written through Edward's point of view) that I downloaded ages ago.
3. What's the most interesting thing hanging on your walls? I have a pair of jade Chinese water gourds on a red string braid hanging by the windows in my room. Another superstition brought on by my dad, presumably to bring me luck. 
4. What's the most uncharacteristic thing in your fridge? I share the fridge with my mom, so while I don't keep weird or uncharacteristic things in there for myself, my mom sometimes has jugs of Chinese herbal teas or pots of Chinese soup in there that I don't even think about touching.
5. What's something you've done in the past year that you thought was going to be awful but turned out pretty good? That trip to New York I went on last September with the girls. There was some drama going on between the two of them that I thought was going to re-surface during the trip, but we had a surprisingly good time.

TheBalm Cabana Boy Shadow & Blush

So, remember when I bought all that stuff from TheBalm last summer? No? Well, I totally forgot about it, too. I played around with a couple of the eyeshadow palettes and one of the blushes, and then was totally consumed with all the other collections that were coming out... and my stash from TheBalm was soon forgotten. A damn shame, too, because they consistently impress me with the quality of their product, not to mention the cheeky packaging. I saw Cabana Boy just sitting there on my desk and was all, "Oooh, I really need to try this out ASAP." And that's what I did. All of TheBalm's blushes can also be used as eyeshadows, and are marketed as such. Cabana Boy comes in a slim cardstock case and has a magnetic close. It comes with a mirror that spans the length of the lid. The cover design of this palette features a '50s-style illustration of a girl in a leopard-print bikini with a cabana boy (presumably) handing her a drink poolside. Each blush contains 8.5 grams of product, and retails for $21 USD.

Cabana Boy (sheered out)

Cabana Boy is a medium-dark dusty raspberry pink with subtle gold shimmer-sheen. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. In terms of cheek colour, it is lighter and less red than MAC Breezy, lighter and less plum than Tarte Blushing Bride, and more pink than NARS Outlaw. In terms of eyeshadow, it is lighter and more pink than MAC Cranberry, and less bright and more plum than MAC Tease With Ease Pro Longwear Eyeshadow.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! It's so soft and so finely-milled, it's almost buttery. It goes on so smooth and so effortlessly, and is very easily blendable so it looks completely seamless. The pigmentation and colour pay-off are phenomenal. I do recommend using a light hand with this, though, applying it in light layers because it is easy to over-do and have clown cheeks. The colour itself isn't too dark and is fairly neutral, so it should work well on all skintones and undertones. It has a nice soft sheen without being too shimmery, so skin looks perfectly luminous. Stunning for this time of year, when that flushed-cheek-from-the-cold look is so in. And price-wise, it's a great value compared to other brands ($2.47/g vs. $4/g for MAC, $5.54/g for Tarte, and $7.05/g for NARS). For some reason, TheBalm is not widely available in Canada (it was previously being carried at Sephora, but has since been taken out), but I think it's still being carried at various PharmaPlus and Rexall locations in Canada. Either way, it's worth looking for.

Survey Says...

This week's Survey Says... from Temptalia:

Favourite pale pink beauty product?

• MAC Young Venus Extra Dimension Eyeshadow
• MAC Pink Porcelain Mineralize Skinfinish
• Butter London Teddy Girl Nail Lacquer
• MAC Creme Cup Lipstick
• Revlon Strawberry Shortcake Lip Butter
• MAC Fashion Scoop Cremesheen Glass

Favourite lavender beauty product?

• MAC Sakura Mineralize Blush
• Butter London Molly Coddled Nail Lacquer
• Butter London Muggins Nail Lacquer
• MAC Fresh Amour Mattene Lipstick
• MAC Pink Popcorn Lipstick
• MAC Japanese Spring Cremesheen Glass 
• MAC Going Casual Cremesheen Glass

Favourite peach beauty product?

• Revlon Peach Parfait Lip Butter
• MAC Flamingo Lipstick
• MAC Ever Hip Lipstick
• Chanel Rivage Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick
• MAC Hipness Powder Blush
• Tarte Charisma Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush
• MAC Warming Heart Pressed Pigment
• MAC Tweet Me Mega Metal Eyeshadow
• MAC Richer, Lusher Cremesheen Glass
• Dior Pretty Rose Addict Ultra-Gloss Glow

What, you thought I could only pick one favourite?

Urban Decay The Vice Palette

When I went to New York last September, I picked up Urban Decay's The Vice Palette on a whim. It was really between that one and the Naked2 Palette, but since I already own the original Naked Palette, I decided I couldn't justify spending $50 USD on another palette full of neutral shades (especially given that I already have tons of neutrals at home). I'd been eyeing The Vice Palette for about a month prior to buying it and decided that the colours included in it were unique and varied enough to justify such a purchase (also because it retails for $68 in Canada; it's $18 cheaper in the US even though our dollars have been on par for over a year!).


The Vice Palette includes 20 brand new and exclusive shades of eyeshadow varying from light to dark and neutral to bright, and comes in several different textures including matte, satin, shimmer, and frost. Every shade contains Urban Decay's Pigment Infusion System, which is "the proprietary blend of ingredients that gives every shade its velvety texture, rich colour, serious staying power, and blendability." The Vice Palette comes in a deep indigo purple rubberized rectangular case with Urban Decay's initials in a plastic "crystallized jewel" gothic emblem inlaid the centre, and has a dampened hinge so that the lid stands on its own when opened. Each palette comes with a large mirror encompassing the entire inside of the lid, and a double-ended Good Karma Shadow and Crease Brush. It includes a total of 16 grams of product (0.8 grams per eyeshadow), and retails for $68 CAD.

Top row (left to right): Desperation, Muse, Jagged, Blitz, and Penny Lane

Desperation is a dark cool-toned smoky grey-taupe with a sheen in a satin finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more blue than MAC Satin Taupe, and lighter and more grey than MAC Contrast. 

Muse is a dark sepia brown with shimmer-sheen in a frost finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and more reddened than MAC Bronze, and lighter and more frosted than MAC Handwritten. 

Jagged is a medium-dark cool-toned tarnished olive-brown with gold micro-glitter in a frost finish. It has drier, more gritty texture, and tends to go on powdery and patchy with some fall-out. It has medium pigmentation and semi-sheer to semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It can be layered easily, but is harder to blend out due to the grittiness. It is more gold than MAC Greensmoke, and much cooler than MAC Tempting. 

Blitz is a light-medium brightened yellow gold with shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is slightly lighter and much more metallic than MAC Goldmine, and is brighter and more intense than MAC Gorgeous Gold. 

Penny Lane is a light-medium peachy melon with gold shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more peach than MAC Expensive Pink, and similar in colour to MAC Melon Pigment.

Second row (left to right): Junkie, Chaos, Occupy, Unhinged, and Black Market

Junkie is a medium-dark vibrant teal with gold shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and much brighter than MAC Steamy, and lighter and less intense in colour than MAC Teal Pigment.

Chaos is a medium-dark vibrant royal blue in a matte finish. It has a finely-milled texture but is slightly on the drier side, so it can go on a bit powdery. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more pigmented than MAC Atlantic Blue. 

Occupy is a medium-dark cool-toned smoky steel grey with multi-dimensional sparkle in a metallic finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. Due to the glitter particles, there is some fall-out. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more blue than MAC Knight Divine, and darker and more grey than MAC Steel Blue Pigment. 

Unhinged is a medium vibrant electric turquoise blue with shimmer-sheen in a frost finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more turquoise than MAC Freshwater, and darker and brighter than MAC Styledriven Pro Longwear Eyeshadow.

Black Market is a dark soft warm black in a satin finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is slightly lighter and warmer than MAC Typographic, and warmer and much more pigmented than MAC Carbon.

Third row (left to right): Provocateur, Rapture, Vice, Noise, and Armor

Provocateur is a light pinked mauve with multi-dimensional sparkle in a metallic finish. It has a very loose, soft consistency and a very gritty texture, and tends to go on powdery and patchy with some fall-out. It has medium pigmentation and semi-sheer to semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It can be layered easily, but is harder to blend out due to the grittiness. It is darker and more mauve than MAC Sweet Lust, and much lighter and more pink than MAC Shale. 

Rapture is a medium-dark dirty plum with shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is much darker and more purple than MAC Shale, and much more grey than MAC Nocturnelle. 

Vice is a medium-dark vibrant purple in a frosted finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is brighter and less red-toned than MAC Nocturnelle, and similar to MAC Plush Pro Longwear Eyeshadow.

Noise is a medium vibrant fuchsia pink with a subtle shimmer-sheen in a satin finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter than MAC Tease with Ease Pro Longwear Eyeshadow. 

Armor is a medium taupe with shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and less brown than MAC Satin Taupe, and much lighter than MAC Keep Your Cool Pro Longwear Eyeshadow.

Fourth row (left to right): Nevermind, Echo Beach, Anonymous, Freebird, and Laced

Nevermind is a light-medium warm bronze brown with shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is less reddened than MAC Sable, and lighter and much warmer than MAC Mulch. 

Echo Beach is a light wheat brown with shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and warmer than MAC Patina, and similar to MAC Sweet Satisfaction Pro Longwear Eyeshadow. 

Anonymous is a light warm ivory with peach undertones in a matte finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is less peach than MAC Orb, and less beige than MAC Brule. 

Freebird is a light warm pink with champagne shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more pink than MAC Naked Lunch, and is slightly lighter than MAC Pink Frontier Pro Longwear Eyeshadow. 

Laced is a light dirty pinked beige in a matte finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more pink than MAC Malt, and similar but more pigmented than MAC Bloom On Pro Longwear Eyeshadow.

Overall, I'm really impressed with this palette. With the exception of Jagged and Provocateur, which are more sheer and gritty with a lot of fall out, every shade was smooth, silky, and pigmented. I don't have a lot of Urban Decay products — I own this and the Naked Palette — but I am extremely pleased and pleasantly surprised with what I've tried so far. I love that this palette includes such a variation of colours and textures; they cover light to dark, and neutral to bright, and keep a similar quality across the board. This palette is phenomenal for those who already have a variety of eyeshadows and are looking for a more unique, colourful palette to add to their collection. And, as always, it's a great value. Since Urban Decay's eyeshadows are typically $22, it makes the product worth $15.49 per gram. So this palette is technically worth $247.84, and that's not including the brush (which is worth about $25). When you look at it that way, this palette at $68 is really, really worth it. A must-have for eyeshadow fiends.

China Glaze & Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away: Nail Lacquer in It's A Trap-Eze!

Okay, so I was on a cream nail polish kick for a bit there, but once my China Glaze Cirque du Soleil order arrived, I was like, "Screw it, I'm going back to glitter!" In another rare act of self-control, I ordered only three shades from this collection after much debate (e.g. filtering through the dozens of online reviews and swatches). The one I was most excited about, and the one that is the most hyped from this collection, was It's A Trap-Eze!, which has quickly become the most unique shade I own.


It's A Trap-Eze! is a milky white base with multi-coloured and multi-sized glitter. It has a thicker consistency that is common with chunkier glitter polishes, but it doesn't hinder the application. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any pulling, bubbling, or streaking. Because the glitter comes in both medium and large sizes and the base is semi-sheer, it goes opaque in three medium coats. I cannot think of any dupes for this. What I love the most about this is that the milkiness of the base colour makes the glitter appear pastel, reminiscent of confetti, balloons, and Cadbury Mini Eggs. It's only appropriate that this shade was created for their Cirque du Soleil collection; it's fun, carefree, happy, and colourful. It looks pretty tacky, like a clumsy kid accidentally spilled craft glitter over your clean white manicure, but that's probably the biggest appeal for me.

Sunday Video Love: Malibu

Still in a '90s post-grunge phase right now. Courtney Love's pretty skanky, but I love Hole (and Melissa Auf der Maur!). Had to share this video because I put Celebrity Skin on constant replay in middle school, and this song was my favourite. And, honestly, this was when Courtney Love was at her most beautiful, clean and sober. It's really too bad she couldn't stay that way.

Shiseido Camellia Compact

When Shiseido's Camellia Compact came out a couple months ago to commemorate their 140th anniversary, I was immediately smitten. It's a beautiful compact, the flower design on the inside is gorgeous, and the shades are totally up my alley. Oh, and it's limited edition, and we all know how I'm a sucker for limited edition products. But because I was trying to budget my personal spending in December, I didn't pick it up right away. It worked out for the better, though, because my friend that works at Shiseido gifted me her gratis Camellia Compact for Christmas. The limited edition compact was "inspired by Shiseido's symbolic camellia trademark... and features shimmering face colour powder in shades of vividly rich rose, spring petal pink, and icy cool platinum... that can be worn alone or blended to create beautiful depth and dimension as a blush or highlighter." Each powder is housed in a black plastic mirrored compact featuring a red camellia design with Shiseido's signature logo on the lid. It contains 6.5 grams of product, and retails for $38.

Three shades swatched separately

Three shades blended together

The Camellia Compact features three shades: 

The first shade is a dark vibrant brick red with gold micro-shimmer. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is much warmer than MAC Frankly Scarlet, slightly darker and more red than MAC Burnt Pepper (PRO), darker and warmer than Tarte Natural Beauty, warmer and less pink than NARS Outlaw, and slightly brighter and more red than NARS Taos. 

The second shade is a medium warm petal pink with subtle silver micro-shimmer. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is warmer and brighter than Dame, more pink than MAC Pinch O' Peach, slightly darker and less yellow than MAC Dainty Mineralize Blush, warmer and less bright than Tarte Dollface, and lighter and much warmer than NARS Mata Hari. 

The third shade is a pale icy white with a soft shimmer-sheen. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is similar though perhaps less frosted than MAC Crystal Avalanche Eyeshadow. 

When the three shades are swirled together, they create a medium-dark warm reddened rose with a soft shimmer-sheen. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. Together, it has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more reddened than MAC Pinch Me, slightly more pink than MAC Gleeful Mineralize Blush, and less brown than NARS Dolce Vita.

In a word, gorgeous. The texture across the three shades is so soft, so finely-milled that it just glides on the skin like silk. The shades blend together to create a really universally flattering shade, and really will suit all skintones from fair to dark. The compact as a whole does lean on the warmer side, but not so warm that those with cooler undertones wouldn't be able to use it. I like that there's also some versatility to this compact; you can use the shades separately, combine any two, or use all three together (which is my preference for using this compact). There's just enough micro-shimmer in it to create a beautiful, natural glow to the skin, but not so much that it looks shimmery. Consider me impressed. I had never thought much of Shiseido's make-up in general, but this compact is making me seriously re-consider taking a look at their other products.

Friday Five: Celebrations

This week's Friday Five:

1. When did you last blow up a balloon? Wow, I'm seriously drawing a blank here... Maybe in middle school? Or high school? I don't know, I haven't had a reason to blow up a balloon in a long, long time.
2. Whose house is especially well-designed for parties, and why? Probably Jack's parent's house. It's huge and spacious and relatively minimal, so there's lots of room for movement and mingling.
3. If the party starts at seven, what time are you there? It really depends on the type of party. If it's crucial that I be there at a specific time (like, say, a dinner party), then I'd try to get there 10 to 15 minutes early. If it's a house party (like, say, a kegger), then whenever the hell I want, really. But as I'm answering this question, it's occurred to me that I rarely go to parties in general.
4. Who brought the best thing to your last potluck? I've never had a potluck in my entire life. The closest thing I've ever had to a potluck was when Ben came to cook for me for my 24th birthday. And even then, no one brought any dishes of their own; Ben bought all the food and cooked all of it at my house. It's one of the perks of having a chef as a best friend.
5. Now that the holidays are over, what (besides a birthday) might be the next thing you celebrate in the company of others? Chinese New Year! Can't wait until the Year of the Dragon is over. It was crap for everyone.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains

As you may have noticed by now, I don't buy or use a lot of drugstore cosmetics. It's not because I don't think they're as good as their higher end counterparts (though in same cases it is true), but mostly because I worked as a cosmetician at a drugstore for so long and got really sick of those brands, and partially because I tend to get those higher end counterparts for about the same price now. But once in a while, there will be a product by a drugstore brand that gets a lot of hype on the blogosphere, YouTube, or in magazines that really piques my interest. In this case, it's Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. I'm not sure exactly when they came out, but it was in the last few months or so that they started to get really, really popular. And, so, when I saw that they were on sale a few weeks ago at Shoppers Drug Mart, I decided to pick up several shades. They are described as "a pampering balm fused with a lightweight lip stain" that promises "softer, smoother lips with a perfect flush of colour that lasts hour after hour." They are peppermint-scented and are slightly flavoured. Each Balm Stain comes in shade-matched self-sharpening "crayon" barrels, contains 2.7 grams of product, and retails for $8 to $12, depending on the retailer (from what I've seen in stores so far).

Darling, Cherish, and Sweetheart

Darling, Cherish, and Sweetheart

Darling is a medium cool purple-toned pink with a sheen. This is a permanent shade. The texture is soft and creamy, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has light-medium pigmentation and semi-sheer to semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It is lighter and less purple than MAC Up The Amp, more pink than MAC Asian Flower Sheen Supreme Lipstick, and darker and more purple than Revlon Strawberry Shortcake Lip Butter. 

Cherish is a light-medium slightly cool-toned cotton candy pink with a sheen. This is a permanent shade. The texture is soft and creamy, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has light-medium pigmentation and semi-sheer to semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It is slightly lighter and cooler than MAC Hot Gossip, brighter and more pink than MAC Syrup, and slightly darker and cooler than Revlon Cotton Candy Lip Butter. 

Sweetheart is a medium reddened pink with a sheen. This is a permanent shade. The texture is soft and creamy, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has light-medium pigmentation and semi-sheer to semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It is slightly cooler and less bright than MAC Lustering, brighter and more pink than Clinique Woppin' Watermelon Chubby Stick, and less pigmented than Revlon Sweet Tart Lip Butter.

Lovesick, Smitten, and Crush

Lovesick, Smitten, and Crush

Lovesick is a medium-dark vibrant cool-toned fuchsia pink with a sheen. This is a permanent shade. The texture is soft and creamy, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium pigmentation and semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It is slightly warmer than MAC Lickable, much cooler than MAC Lustering, brighter and less red than Clinique Chunky Cherry Chubby Stick, and slightly darker and more sheer than Revlon Lollipop Lip Butter. 

Smitten is a medium-dark vibrant cool-toned berry pink with a sheen. This is a permanent shade. The texture is soft and creamy, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium pigmentation and semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It is darker than MAC Lickable, more sheer than MAC Quite The Thing! Sheen Supreme Lipstick, brighter and much more pink than Clinique Super Strawberry Chubby Stick, and a touch lighter than Revlon Raspberry Pie Lip Butter. 

Crush is a darkened berry wine red with a sheen. This is a permanent shade. The texture is soft and creamy, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium pigmentation and semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It is lighter and more sheer than MAC Hang-Up, lighter and cooler than MAC Good to be Bad Sheen Supreme Lipstick, and slightly darker and cooler than Revlon Red Velvet Lip Butter.

I've always been wary of wearing lip stains — I mean, sure, the colour stays on your lips all day and all night, but they look like total crap because all the moisture has been sucked out of them and you have to keep re-applying balm or gloss to make them look remotely alive. But not with these babies! Finally, a lip stain that I can get on board with! They don't have opaque colour coverage (though the darker and brighter shades are buildable enough to get almost opaque), but I like that your lips show through these because they actually look like they've stained your lips, which is really the point of a lip stain, you know?

They stay on incredibly well and have a natural sheen that keeps lips looking hydrated. They are not the most moisturizing lip product, granted, but I didn't feel the need to put a secondary balm or gloss on top. The darker and brighter shades stayed on my lips for the entire duration of wear including eating, drinking, and smoking, and actually stained my lips to the point where I still managed to wipe some off the next day. The lighter shades stayed on my lips for the entire duration of wear, also including eating, drinking, and smoking, but they didn't stain my lips and came off easily when I was removing the rest of my make-up. I also love that they're housed in crayon barrels so they're fuss-free and easy to apply. Overall, I'm really impressed with these. Revlon took an idea that previously needed two separate products — the lip stain colour and a gloss/balm — and made the perfect hybrid formula.

Baking Session: Red Velvet Cupcakes

Janetta and I hadn't done a baking session in a while, so we decided to meet up yesterday for our first one of the year. After the lemon square flop, we were both wary of what to bake this time around (the intense amount of vegan margarine we used last time left such a nasty aftertaste to the point where we couldn't even enjoy our final product). We tend to make vegan versions of things so both our vegan and non-vegan friends can enjoy our treats, but we are also well-aware of how vegan replacements of things (e.g. eggs, butter, milk) can completely alter the taste of a dessert. So we decided to bake vegan red velvet cupcakes with a recipe that Janetta had successfully tried before, and with both homemade cream cheese frosting and vegan-friendly store-bought buttercream frosting.

Dry ingredients: Flour, salt, and baking soda

In the mixer: Sugar, (vegan) butter, and eggs (or egg substitute)

In another bowl, add cocoa powder, vinegar, and a lot of (vegan) red food colouring

Add dry ingredients, milk (or soy milk), and red cocoa paste into mixer

Blend until smooth and creamy, you know, like velvet

Line pan with cups (my choice: giraffes with party hats, Janetta's choice: scary acrobats)

Scoop batter into cups (we used an ice cream scoop for equal-sized cupcakes)

Put in oven at 350ºF for 30 minutes

In clean mixing bowl, add cream cheese and (vegan) butter

Add icing sugar and vanilla extract

Blend until frosting is smooth and creamy

Remove cupcakes from oven and let cool for 15 - 20 minutes

Frosting time!

Janetta is much more skilled at this than I am

Add toppings for decoration (we used cake crumbs and red crystal sprinkles)

Time to devour!

These turned out beautifully: the cake was soft and moist with just enough chocolate flavour, and the frosting was rich, smooth, and not too sweet so the cream cheese stood out. I also have to note that not a single person could tell they were vegan (well, minus the cream cheese frosting). I gave one to Jack last night, and he devoured one in about 15 seconds, no words necessary. I brought one to my co-worker today, and she just sent me a text saying, "Delicious! My kids had to fight me for it!" I delivered a small batch with buttercream frosting to my vegan friend for her 30th birthday, who had never had red velvet cupcakes before, and she literally swooned and said, "God, I can't believe I've been missing out on this my entire life." My mom tried one this afternoon and thought it was so good, she "just had to bring a another one to work" and then a third one for her "co-worker," if only to save me from "eating too many calories and becoming fat." (Ahem.) In conclusion, I'd say these are a big hit with vegans and non-vegans alike! And, hey, they're even mom-approved. Many thanks to Janetta for making our baking session a success!