SOCIAL MEDIA

Thursday, July 28, 2016

MAC x Toledo Oxblood Lipstick ♡ Review + Swatches

MAC x Toledo Oxblood Lipstick
MAC x Toledo Oxblood Lipstick
MAC x Toledo Oxblood Lipstick

Today I am sharing with you my review of the MAC Oxblood Lipstick, it is one of my favorite and most used lipstick in my MAC collection. Oxblood is part of the MAC x Toledo Collection that launched in January / February 2015 and it is a Limited Edition collection with a stylish packaging.

Firstly I want to apologize for reviewing a product that is no longer available on the market. This has been sitting in my drafts for over a year and I think it is time to review this cute little thing. 

I absolutely adore the MAC Oxblood Lipstick, I love everything from its' smooth matte texture to its' peachy nudes shade that wears beautifully on my NC25 skin tone all year round. I wish that some day MAC would bring back Oxblood and make it into the permanent lipstick range, this way I wouldn't panic every time I see how 'used' the lipstick is. 

MAC x Toledo Oxblood Lipstick

Last year, MAC collaborate with fashion designer couple Ruben and Isabel Toledo and together they have created a makeup collection which contains 6 x lipsticks, 6 x lipglass, 3 x eyeshadow palettes, 3 x blushes, 3 x eyeliners, 3 x colored mascaras, 3 x nail polishes, 1 x powder brush and 1 x makeup bag. It is a fairly big collection, but the only item that truly caught my eyes was Oxblood. 

MAC x Toledo Oxblood Lipstick
MAC x Toledo Oxblood Lipstick

MAC Oxblood Lipstick is described as a light peachy nude with a matte finish, it appears as a medium nude with a peach undertone on my NC25 skin tone. It is slightly orange, but the color doesn't appear as muddy.

MAC x Toledo Lipsticks comes packaged in a Limited Edition lipstick bullet with a rubbery texture, it has a white base with a chic design and the cardboard box is double packaged with two layers, the one on the inside is plain white with the logo printed in red and the outside cardboard packaging has a design that is similar to the actual bullet.

Usually MAC matte finish pulls and drags upon application, but Oxblood is the total opposite. The lipstick has a creamy texture that applies like a dream. It has a great color pay-off and it wears comfortably for up to four hours before it starts to feel very dry. The longest wearing time of Oxblood is approximately six hours on me, then it starts to fade into an awkward lip liner look.

MAC x Toledo Oxblood Lipstick

 OVERALL, MAC Oxblood is a beautiful warm nude lipstick if you are into those kind of shades. It is a matte finish, but it has a creamy texture that wears comfortably for at least four hours and the application was smooth and easy. As always, I cannot say no to beauty products with cute packaging. I thought that the MAC x Toledo collection's packaging is so chic and stylish, it is exactly what you could imagine coming from a fashion designer. Part of me bought Oxblood for its packaging, but this time the biggest reason of my purchase is toward the lipstick shade. It is absolutely gorgeous and I don't think I own anything similar (coming from someone who often 'accidentally' buys lip colors with the same shade). 

   
I am giving this a four stars rating because:
- It is a Limited Edition lipstick and it is no longer available to purchase, unless if risking the authenticity and buy from eBay, or buy second hands.
- When the lipstick wears off, it fades awkwardly into the lip liners look
- The lipstick shows signs of flakey-ness around the four - five hours mark.


are you a fan MAC Oxblood Lipstick?
do you know of any dupes to this Limited Edition lipstick?

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

COLOURPOP Matte X Lippie Stix ♡ 13 Shades Lip Swatches

Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix

COLOURPOP Matte X Lippie Stix is so far the BEST matte lip formula that I have tried! The Matte X range includes a selection of 16 colors ranging from the palest nudes to an unique blue.

At the moment I have 13 shades from the Matte X Lippie Stix range and today I am sharing with you full swatches of the lip products, as well as my thoughts on them and how these performs on me.

Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix

 Matte X COLOR SELECTION 

As mentioned there is a total of 16 shades available from the COLOURPOP Matte X Lippie Stix collection; and currently I own the following 13 shades - Poppin' (medium-dark pink), Climax (intense blue violet), Chateau (deep wine red), Back Up (mid-tone plum), Tickler (vibrant neon pink), Barely There (neon warm-toned coral), Boa (pastel pinky lilac), Bootie (orange red), Trust Me (vivid true red), Topless (bright yellow tangerine), Cami (neutral mauve pink), Pillow Talk (mid-tone greyish beige) and She Bad (nude beige).

The 3 other shades that I am missing from this collection is - Hollywood Blvd (yellow toned brown), Jenneration X (bright true orange with a hint of red) and Love Life (brownish brick red). All three shades were unavailable when I did my order, they are also one of the most popular shades from this collection, therefore, I haven't been able to get my hands on.

From the color selection shown of the ones that I have, the collection seems to contains too many reds, oranges and pinks; and the colors are either too bright and neon, or too pastel and not wearable, OR too dark and not suitable for everyday wear. Although there is one nude shade, I don't find it too wearable as the color is not suitable for every skin tone. I find that She Bad (the nude shade) is too pale on my NC25 skin tone and when wearing the lip color, it looks as if I was wearing concealer.

I find that Cami (mauve pink) is the most wearable shade from this collection, it is also one of my absolute favourite (other shades I love are Pillow Talk and Climax) from the COLOURPOP Matte X collection. If you are a fan of MAC Soar Lip Pencil, I bet you will love Cami too, as both shades are almost identical and they goes perfectly together.

Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix

 Matte X TEXTURE & FORMULA 

COLOURPOP Matte X Lippie Stix is very pigmented and it has a smooth and creamy texture that glides on the lips beautifully and effortlessly, the Matte X formula is comfortable to wear and it feels very lightweight. The creamy texture melts into my lips as I applied and most of the colours applied evenly with an exception of Climax that applies patchy and Topless that applies streaky.

Matte X formula is easily removed with a makeup wipe, most of the reds and pinks stains after removable, but the colours fades after an hour or two. I love that three of my favourite shades: Cami, Pillow Talk and Climax doesn't stain at all and they were easily removed without dragging and pulling my lips.

I love that the COLOURPOP Matte X Lippie Stix range are all matte finish, but non of them were drying during wear, neither hydrating, but each and every single colour is super comfortable to wear.


 Matte X SCENT 

I haven't been a huge fan of COLOURPOP Lippie Stix, whatever the finish is, it is because they all have this weird playdough scent that I cannot stand; the weird scent does fades away quickly after application.


Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Cami"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Cami"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "She Bad"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "She Bad"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Climax"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Climax"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Poppin"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Poppin"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Chateau"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Climax"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Back Up"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Back Up"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Tickler"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Tickler"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Barely There"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Barely There"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Boa"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Boa"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Bootie"
 Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Bootie"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Trust Me"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Bootie"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Topless"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Topless"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Pillow Talk"
Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Pillow Talk"


Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix

 Matte X QUALITY 

I find that the quality is already good enough for the price we pay for and I am talking based on the whole of COLOURPOP Lippie Stix range; these products are very affordable and the quality of the products are excellent, except that the texture is so creamy that the Lippie Stix melts and breaks too easily inside the tube, without exposing to the sun or dropping the products etc...

I always store my makeup in an acrylic drawers and placed them somewhere that is not exposed to the sun, nor it is too damp. When the products arrived in my hands, I always checked that they are in perfect conditions before I place in the acrylic drawer, and the next time I take out the Lippie Stix, some of the are already broken inside, or they have melted and some even flies out of the tube when I tried to open them.

Also, sometimes my COLOURPOP products comes in-complete, like some of them doesn't have a label and some of them comes in an awkward position, like as shown in the She Bad Lippie Stix photo.

 Matte X DURING WEAR 

As mentioned above, the COLOURPOP Matte X Lippie Stix formula is very soft and cream and it wears super comfortable despite being a matte finish. Cami (mauve pink) is my absolute favourite shade from the bunch and it is also my most worn shade; I find that it feathered during wear (approximately five hours wearing point) and it smudges around the bottom lips and chin area if I eat oily food. If it was just normal drinking coffee or having a little snack, Cami only transfer a teeny tiny bit and if I re-applied during the day, my lips doesn't look cakey nor feels heavy or drying.

 Matte X PRICING 

If you aren't familiar with COLOURPOP products, all of their makeup are very affordable, but international shipping is a killer, so instead of shipping directly to New Zealand, I always have my parcel ship via YouShop.

COLOURPOP Matte X Lippie Stix is USD $5.00 each and shipping to New Zealand is USD $25.00. If using YouShop, it only cost NZD $22.00 with free shipping if purchase over USD $30.00 from COLOURPOP to YouShop warehouse. You save approximately NZD $13.00 if used YouShop.

 MY FAVOURITES 

 Wearing: Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Cami"
Wearing: Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Climax"
Wearing: Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix "Pillow Talk"


have you tried Colourpop Matte X Lippie Stix?
what is your favourite product from Colourpop?