Benefit Stay Flawless 15-Hour Primer

Benefit's 15-Hour Primer is amazing. This is a product that's gotten a lot of mixed reviews from a lot of folks. It's definitely a product that's a trial and error for me. I've had this primer for well over 2 months now and it wasn't until about 3 weeks ago did I actually start to really enjoy this product. My face is oily in the t-zone and I have combo skin.

First, let me say, if you don't use this product correctly, you will not get proper results. If you are not careful with this product, you will break this product (see first picture).

I use this primer with my liquid foundations and I apply the primer (and foundation) half of my face at a time. I do not rub it into my face and I use the stick directly. Some may find this unsanitary, but as long as your face is clean and you're the only person using it, it should be alright.

A lot of folks (on the internet and YouTube) have mentioned that their stick have broken in half/snapped when it was time to twist it up. Mine did exactly that. As you know (from my blog), I have a separate makeup area, so it's not like I keep my makeup in my bathroom or anywhere wet...anyhow. I was very upset. A big chunk fell on the floor and the tub inside (see first pic) had a big hole. TERRIBLE!

I wish Benefit could have made this into a tub instead of of a stick maybe. That way, you can use a brush and brush it on your face and it would also be more sanitary.

The product is also supposed to be waterproof, though I haven't exactly fell into a pool to test that theory.

I believe that though the primer is great, the staying power has a LOT to do with what kind of foundation you are using. I've been pairing them Estee Lauder Double Wear Light or Mac Matchmaster. Both lasts me all day with wearing the primer underneath. Here are some pictures!

Here is the broken (old) primer, as you can see, there is a big hole and the chunk that fell out:

I bought my primer from Ulta (and I am a member there) well over 2 months ago and they were SO NICE about it. They looked up my information and was able to confirm my purchase and they just gave me a new one and took the old one. Big yay to Ulta's customer service!

I am not sure what the little white specks are:

This is a swatch on my NC25 skintone, I just wanted to show you all that there is no color, it does go on clear:

You can find this product at:

Benefit Cosmetics or Sephora or Ulta for $32

I give the product a 8.5/10 but I give the packaging a 6/10

Palette Wars: Lorac Pro -vs- Naked 2

Most of you have heard of the Naked palettes. More specifically, there are 3 Naked palettes: Naked, Naked 2 and Naked Basics. In my humble opinion, there is absolutely no need to own all 3 of the Naked palettes (unless you have money to throw around). Many have said that the first Naked (1, or the original) palette is better suited for those that are more neutral or cool toned and the Naked 2 is more for those that are warm toned and the Naked Basics palette is an all matte neutral small, convenient palette that's easy to carry.

I own the Naked 2 and the Naked Basics palettes. I also own the Lorac Pro palette. 

If you are thinking of only owning (1) ONE universal palette, I'll share with you my comparison of the Naked 2 -vs- the Lorac Pro below and hopefully it will help you decide which is a better choice.

Urban Decay NAKED 2 ($50):

PROS: This is great palette with 12 shades of warms and neutrals that's mixed with shimmers and mattes. The first shade, Foxy is the perfect brow highlight shade and the last shade Blackout is the perfect black to seal your liner with. It's versatile and multifunctional. The case is durable and sturdy, made of a metal tin (beats the cardboard stuff anyday). It comes with a dual ended brush and it also comes with a mini lipgloss. Let's be real, no one is getting the Naked 2 for the gloss or the brush though. It also comes with a HUGE mirror, which is great for travel/on the go. The textures of the shadows are buttery soft and glides on smoothly. 

CONS: To maximize the use of the colors, especially the lighter colors, I would definitely suggest using a primer or a base. The lighter colors does not show up as well without it. I do experience slight fallout with the shadows, this also might have to do with the fact that the shadows are so buttery soft (which is a good thing). I just suggest that you do your eye makeup first. Color variety is lacking for the cost. These are just your basic neutrals and warms. You will not be able to create any colors that are fun and vibrant with the Naked 2.

Lorac Pro ($42)

PROS: This is a great palette with 8 mattes and 8 shimmers (which totals 16 shadows, compared to Naked 2's 12). The price is cheaper than Naked 2 as well. I love the fact that you so many mattes. Matte shadows are hard to find, has anyone noticed that? Also, the color spectrum of the Lorac Pro is amazing. You have your lights and you have your darks. The number/variety of looks you can pull off with the Lorac Pro is probably higher than with the Naked 2. The colors were easier to blend compared to the Naked 2 and the payoff was also better.

CONS: The packaging can be a lot better. I feel as though if I dropped my palette, it will break and shatter into a million pieces. Other than that, really that's the only con I can think of. 

So the winner of the Palette War? LORAC PRO!

If you are in the market for one palette, one palette to rule them all...Lorac Pro is your best bet! Just try not to drop it.

You can find this product at:

Sephora: Naked 2 for $50 or Lorac Pro for $42

I give Naked 2 a 8/10 and Lorac Pro a 8.5/10

YVES SAINT LAURENT

YVES SAINT LAURENT: 

Just saying it makes me feel all fancy! Today's post will be about YSL lipsticks. More specifically, their Rouge Volupte lipsticks and their Volupte Sheer Candy Glossy Balms.

Let's get the obvious out of the way..these cost a pretty little penny. 3400 ($34) pennies for the lipsticks and 3200 ($32) pennies for the balms to be exact. 

I own three (3). I sold blood for them. I might have to sell plasma for the Fall collection. We'll see. 

Here's what I have:

(L) Lipstick in #1 Nude Beige, (M) Balm in #9 Cool Guava, (R) Balm in #4 Grenade Suave

 (L) Lipstick in #1 Nude Beige, (M) Balm in #9 Cool Guava, (R) Balm in #4 Grenade Suave

 Swatched (L) Lipstick in #1 Nude Beige, (M) Balm in #9 Cool Guava, (R) Balm in #4 Grenade Suave

So what do I think of these? I'm glad you asked!

1. I think they smell amazing! I've never smelled such classy lipsticks before. YSL must inject perfume into their lipsticks! Keep in mind, this can also be a HUGE turn off for some folks too. This is also why I put this as my number one. It has a mild (but good, to me) fragrance.
2. All 3 goes on smoothly and glides on like butter.
3. The lipstick (I only have #1 in Nude Beige) is amazing in color, very opaque, which is great...especially if I'm paying $34 for a lipstick, I don't want to be reapplying over and over again!
4. The balms, #9 was really light and the color pay-off was not that great. I feel like I paid a little too much for not a lot of color. However, #4 was uh-may-zing! It is the perfect sheer glossy red!
5. Packaging...I mean, really? How gorgeous are they? I'm not saying go out and buy a $34 lipstick just for the smell and the packaging, but man....

You can find this product at:

Sephora for $32 (balm) and $34 (lipstick)

I give this product a 9/10

Mac Blushes 101

This post will be about Mac blushes. It will only be about the powder blushes. So no cremes, no mineralized, no pro longwear, and no limited editions blushes.

Let's get started. I am breaking the blushes up into 4 sections:

1. Warms/Peaches/Shimmers
2. Pinks
3. Bolds/Pro (you don't need a Pro card to buy Pro items, you can order online or from a Pro store)
4. Others/Contours/Highlights

WARMS/PEACHES/SHIMMERS

All colors are great alone by themselves, descriptions are taken from Mac Cosmetics directly 

 1.  Sunbasque: Peach with pearl (sheertone shimmer)

 2. Ambering Rose: Muted rose (sheertone shimmer)
 3. Margin: Peach with golden shimmer (frost)
 4. Melba: Soft coral peach (matte)
 5. Peaches: Pure peach (sheertone)
 6. Pinch Me: Medium dirty rose coral (sheertone)

PINKS

These colors are great alone as well, but I like to layer colors with these so that they show up more

 1. Well Dressed: Immaculate pink (satin)
 2. Pink Swoon: Clearly pink (sheertone)
 3. Fleur Power: Soft bright pinkish-coral (satin)

BOLDS/PRO

These colors on my NC25 skintone are a bit bold, I like to blend them out with another, less harsh color

 1. Devil (Pro): Bright coral orange (satin)
 2. Apple Red (Pro): Fire engine red (satin)
 3. Rhubarb (Pro): Bright magenta (satin)
 4. Dollymix: Pure candy pink (sheertone shimmer)
 5. Salsarose (Pro): Lightly iridescent coral (satin)
 6. Azalea (Pro): Bright iridescent blue pink (frost)

 OTHERS/CONTOURS/HIGHLIGHTS

For these particular ones, here's how I use them:

 1. Shadowy: Deep brown matte sculpting powder--I use this to contour
 2. Lightsweep: Warm beige with fine pearl shaping powder--I use this to powder
 3. Emphasize: Off white with fine pear shaping powder--I use this to set my under eye
 4. Trace Gold: Gold with shimmer (sheertone shimmer)--I use this as a summer highlight
 5. Cantaloupe: Rich warm cantaloupe (satin)--I use this as a base for my bold blushes sometimes
 6. Blushbaby: Beige-pink (sheertone)--I use this alone as a very subtle blush

I hope this has been helpful to you if you are searching for a Mac blush. Remember, this is just the tip of the iceberg. This is just the regular powder blushes. You can buy all of the blushes mentioned on Mac's website. Keep in mind that you have the option of buying them individually in the refill pan's for $17 each here or you can buy them by itself for $21 each normally here.

Lastly, the sculpting and shaping powders are not considered blushes, they are $16.50 each and are Pro items only. Pro items can only be bought via refills only.

Mac Soft Ochre Paint Pot

As a warm-toned Asian (NC25 in Mac), Paint Pot in Soft Ochre is about the best thing since sliced bread for me.

How much do I love Soft Ochre? Let me count the ways:

1. It's a base: it makes my eyeshadows THAT much more vibrant and colorful.
2. It's a primer: goodbye primers, since I've been using Soft Ochre, I haven't had the need for my primers. Before you say anything, let me just preface by saying, I GOT SOME GREASY LIDS. Eyeliners transferring? Check! Eyeshadows creasing? Check! Eyeshadows disappearing at the end of the day? Check! Obviously, you can still feel free to use your primer, but this particular shade of Paint Pot takes care of everything for me.
3. It's a concealer (for my eyelids, don't be confused, I only use it on my eyelids): I take it all the way up to my brows though, this means it conceals the redness of when I have just plucked my brows.

What else do you need to know:

1. It goes on creamy and dries fast. Very fast. So blend it out right away and let it set and then do what you have to do afterwards!
2. Store it upside down (this is what's been rumored on the web, do a search if you don't believe me), but I honestly haven't had mine long enough to know, nor have I been storing mine upside down!
3. Soft Ochre vs Painterly: as with all Mac products, they breakdown their line to NC or NW (though newer products are more neutral)...these two popular paint pots are just that. One is more yellow/warm toned and the other is more pink/cool toned. I obviously love Soft Ochre because it suits my skintone better. 

So to my fellow NCers (in skintone), Soft Ochre is the way to go!

You can find this product at:

Mac Cosmetics for $20

I give this product a 9/10

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick

Lipstick junkie. These are the two words that can be used to best describe me.

The Urban Decay (UD) Revolution Lipsticks are the bomb.com. The two lipsticks I bought are in the colors of Streak and Obsessed. Let me tell you, these lipsticks are long-lasting. Not only that, some other qualities of these lipsticks are:

Non-drying: I wouldn't call it hydrating, but at least it does not dry my lips like other long-lasting lipsticks.

Staining: I can't be the only person that doesn't always reapply my lipstick through the day, right? RIGHT?

Opaque: talk about color intensity! One swipe on my lower lip and one swipe on my upper lip and I'm good to go!

Don't forget, to make these ever so more long-lasting, pair them with their lip pencils!

Enough babbling, here are some pictures of what I'm talking about:

You can find this product at:

Urban Decay for $22
Sephora for $22
Ulta for $22

I give this product a 9/10