There are some tools you never realize how badly you need until you’re without them, and I found this out when I lost my pencil sharpener.  It was a cheapie from the drugstore, but it was able to sharpen all sizes of lip and eye liners that I own, including the hard to sharpen NYX Jumbo pencils.  After I’d scraped my eye a few times with dull, unsharpened pencils, I decided it was time to go ahead and replace it – and while I was at it I figured, why not go for an upgrade to a name brand sharpener?  Surely, they must be better?  And sleeker and cuter of course.  That may have slightly affected my decision.  I searched at MAC first and I saw the dual-ended sharpener on the website.

At $6.50, it’s priced affordably.  It’s definetly sleek and sexy looking.  All of my pencils should fit in either of the ends perfectly.  And because it’s MAC, it should be awesome.  This story should have a totally happy ending, right?

Wrong.

So first of all this sharpener is made out of the cheapest, thinnest plastic.  It just feels like it’s going to break.  I guess that is entirely a subjective thing, but I really don’t want any of my products, even something like a pencil sharpener, to feel that it is so fragile that I could snap it by clenching my fingers too tight.  The entire sharpener is 3 parts – the large sharpener at one end, the small sharpener at the other, and the clear part in the middle to separate them and store the shavings.  This is a nice idea…  But unfortunately the sharpeners don’t screw into the clear plastic center, they merely press on tight.  And I’m using that word tight very lightly; I’m constantly pulling one end off by accident and then the shavings end up everywhere.

Besides just the sloppy design flaws, my biggest issue overall is with the sharpeners themselves.  When you sharpen your pencils, you want them to come out looking similar to what they where when you first bought them, perhaps a tad sharper.  The best way I could describe how your pencils are going to come out is…  Well, do you remember sharpening your wooden No. 2′s back in the day?  Those traditional pencil sharpeners gave you a long point with lots of exposed lead, which is very good when you’re writing with a pencil -  but it’s terrible when you’re using it for makeup.  This sharpener eats up a ton of your pencil in the process, and unfortunately, you don’t end up with a precise tip, but a long tip with product that will break off very easily.  The blade also continues to cut into the product while you sharpen, further weakening the tip.  Oh and by the way, it completely mutilated – but didn’t in the least bit sharpen – my NYX Jumbo Pencil.

Look at how nasty these tips look!

In conclusion I guess I would have to say I just really, REALLY do not recommend buying this sharpener from MAC.  In my experience, my pencils look chewed up, the tips break, and I’m not getting any kind of smooth, sharp pencil tip that’s useful for makeup.  So I’m back to my search for a good sharpener.  I don’t know if I’ll be heading back to the drug store, but I’ll definitely be doing more research this time!

So while I was organizing my pigment drawer I accidentally found a dupe for Lumi that I already own!  Make Up For Ever Star Powder No. 944 looks like an almost exact dupe for Sugarpill Lumi to my eyes.  The blue and green reflects are identical.  In comparison of textures, the two are slightly different – I have a much easier time swatching and building up Lumi – the MUFE Star Powder is very dusty and superfine and I had to keep building over the same area to get the desired effect.  Side by side, I find it impossible to tell the two apart!  I tried to take several pictures of my swatches to get a good comparison.  Swatched over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy.

Top: Sugarpill Lumi, Bottom: MUFE No. 944

Left to right: MUFE No. 944, Sugarpill Lumi

Now where the two absolutely differ is in value and price… The Make Up For Ever Star Powder is $19 for 1 gram/.09oz.  The Sugarpill Chromalust costs $12 for 5 grams/.19oz.  WOW.

And Lindsay, THANK YOU for reminding me – I wanted to show a swatch of Lumi over a dark base… It turns a beautiful deep green color.

Lumi swatched over MUFE Aqua Cream Color in Black

I just might be… But I don’t care!   I received my very first order this past Friday, and I want to share my experience because I’ve been drooling over these products for a long time now.

I placed my order on Sunday the 20th, it shipped on Monday the 21st, and I received it on Saturday the 26th.  Not bad for California to New Jersey.  My order was packed neatly in a small box that fit in my apartment’s mailboxes, thankfully.  There was a cute cartoon cat and sticker on the outside.  Inside, my products were neatly wrapped in purple tissue paper.  The packaging for the products themselves is too adorable to throw out.  It’s easy to tell that a lot of love went into making these products because there is so much detail!  Also included was a complete invoice signed personally by Amy, beautifully designed business cards, and a glittery Sugarpill sticker.  For my very first order, I purchased Dollipop and Tako pressed eyeshadows, and Lumi, Absinthe, and Goldilux Chromalust loose eyeshadows.

The pressed shadows have a very finely milled, silky texture.  It’s not necessary to dig your brush vigorously into the pot to get product onto your brush, in fact doing so will likely result in far too much shadow on your brush — not because these are chalky, but because of the very soft texture.  Getting total opacity only takes a few swipes, and the shadows blend beautifully into other textures and colors.  The vibrancy and color payoff is NUTS.  I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t choose more than these two colors to try.

Dollipop –  Very matte, very bright pink.  This is definitely the brightest pink I own, and it’s so hot pink and in your face, that I really have nothing to compare it to.  You only need a small amount to get intense color payoff.  This will stain your eyes and brush if you aren’t careful!

Tako — I was looking for a bright, matte white that would perform better than MAC’s Gesso, and this delivers.  Builds up to opaque white in a few swipes and blends great with other colors.

The Chromalust loose eyeshadows come in a tall jar with a screw off lid.  There seems to be a problem with product getting underneath the lid as there’s nothing to seal it from the rest of the product.  When I first opened my jars there was a good bit of pigment on the inner rims of the jars as well as a little on the outside of one of them.  This is one pigment you definitely wouldn’t want to store upside down for this reason, and use precaution whenever opening and storing.  The texture of the shadows is very fine, none of the colors were clumpy or hard to work with.  As with the other shadows, they hold up well to blending and stay vibrant.  I highly recommend using Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy when using these shimmery loose shadows as  I used to swatch in the first picture below – it makes the pigments appear foiled even those they’re not wet.  You can tell a HUGE difference between the swatch of Goldilux in the first picture below, and the third picture with the other gold swatches, where I swatched Goldilux dry over a base.  These kind of sticky bases are great for shimmery shadows like the Chromalusts and I’ll definitely continue to use them when I work with these in the future.

Absinthe — This is a very unique green – very much a lime green, as described.  It’s packed with gold glitter.

Lumi — A shimmery white pigment with blue and green reflects.  I was probably most excited about this color – it’s an amazing brow/inner corner highlight, especially over a white pencil.  Similar to MAC Reflects Transparent Teal – see the pic below.

Goldilux — Bright, sparkling, shimmering, yellow gold.  I’ve really never seen such a bright gold.  There couldn’t be a better shade for blue eyes.

All my Sugarpill swatches.  Pressed eyeshadows are swatched over TFSI; Loose chromalusts are swatched over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy.

Left side vertical swatches – Dollipop and Tako pressed shadows Right side horizontal swatches, top to bottom – Lumi, Absinthe, Goldilux

In natural lighting…

A comparison of other golds in my collection to Goldilux.  Everything is swatched over TFSI.

From l to r – Urban Decay Half Baked, Honey, MAC Woodwinked, Goldmine, Amber Lights, Gorgeous Gold, Rose Gold pigment, Copperized pigment Sugarpill Goldilux Chromalust on bottom

In natural lighting… Please excuse my vein-y Hulk hands!

As you can see, Goldilux is incredibly unique.  The closest I found to it is MAC’s Rose Gold pigment, but Goldilux is clearly more yellow and loaded with glitter!

A comparison of Lumi and MAC’s Reflects Transparent Teal Glitter

L to R – MAC Reflects Transparent Teal, Lumi

Lumi is nearly identical to the MAC glitter, but a much more wearable version as it’s not made of large glitter particles. For instance, if you use Lumi in your inner corner, it will look like a gorgeous subtle white and turquoise glow, but when you use MAC’s Transparent Teal Glitter, it looks very obviously like glitter.

2 quick looks using my new Sugarpill!

Goldilux on my blue peepers:

Goldliux on lids, Lumi on the inner corners, Tako under brow

Quick look using Dollipop:

Tako on the lid and browbone, Dollipop on the lid, Lumi in the inner corner

I am LOVING everything I got so far and I can’t wait to play more with my colors… is it too soon for a second order?!

You can buy these products and see the rest of the amazing line at Sugarpill Shop.  I would highly recommend to anyone who loves bright colors, great consistency and pigmentation, and in general, something unique in their makeup collection!

With the spring/summer season upon us, I thought it was time to write a post about my favorite, number one beauty product of all time… Sunscreen! No groaning ladies – sunscreen is the best investment you can make for your skin, and by far the cheapest anti-aging product you can buy. As a girl with very fair skin (NC15) that cannot spend 15 minutes in the sun without getting a sunburn, I’ve had plenty of experience trying out different products to protect my skin. I’d like to share with you some of my favorite products that contain SPF – not just greasy, thick sunscreen that leaves you with a gross white-cast! Shiseido has some really amazing suncare products. Shiseido Sun Protection Cream N I use the Ultimate Sun Protection Cream N daily over my moisturizer. It is rated SPF 55 PA+++. Before I used Shiseido products, I was unaware of the PA rating system, which measures the effectiveness of a sunscreen against UVA rays; SPF measures the effectiveness against mainly UVB rays. UVB rays are more damaging and cause cancer; however UVA rays cause the more unsightly side of the sun – wrinkles and age spots. :\ Ew. PA+++ Is the highest rating possible, making this a very potent sunscreen for your face. Also, because it’s formulated for the face, it’s not sticky, pore-clogging, and doesn’t leave a ghostly white-cast like some other high-SPF sunscreens I’ve used. All-in-all, I would highly recommend this as a daily SPF for those of you that need a higher one! (It also comes in a SPF 38 version!) Shiseido Sun Protection Eye Cream This eye cream is rated SPF 32 PA+++. I apply it daily over my eye cream. I never used to really consider using protection around my eyes, but if you stop to think about it, since the area around your eyes is the first to show the signs of aging, it really is the area that needs it the most. Unfortunately, most eye creams don’t create SPF, and the skin is far too delicate to use regular sunscreen, so I was over the moon when I found this particular product. This eye cream is moisturizing and disappears into your skin right away. It won’t make your concealer crease, and it won’t sting your eyes. It’s great for daily use, and I really felt protected when I was in Mexico under the sun for hours! Peter Thomas Roth Oily Problem Skin Instant Mineral Powder SPF 30 This is by far one of my favorite products… This mineral powder releases when you sweep the brush applicator over your face, and the minerals provide a SPF 30 physical (not chemical like most sunscreens) barrier against the sun. The product is transparent, so it won’t change the color of your makeup, and since this particular one is for oily skin, it gives an instant mattifying effect. The self-contained applicator is extremely convenient – I always have this in my purse so it’s easy to quickly dust it over my face before I step outside. There are other versions of this product in SPF 45 and even a SPF 30 bronzing powder. Primers, primers, primers… Primers are another great way to add some extra sun protection to your daily makeup routine. Here are two of my favorites. NARS Makeup Primer SPF 20 is probably one of the best primers I’ve ever used and the consistency doesn’t have the feel of a product with heavy sunscreen. It’s not greasy and really does help your makeup stay all day long. MAC Prep and Prime Protect SPF 50 packs a lot of protection for fairer skins, but it is definitely a thicker product, likely because of the higher SPF. Aveeno Essential Moisture Lip Condition with SPF 15 When gearing up for the sun, don’t forget your lips! They’re extremely sensitive and susceptible to the sun’s rays, and if you’ve ever experienced burned lips or cold sores after exposure, you know how painful neglecting this area can be… I, for one, HATE how SPF feels on my lips. It tends to make my lips feel MORE chapped than if I put nothing on at all and also dries them out very quickly. However, I love this Aveeno lip conditioner because it feels deeply moisturizing unlike the other products I’ve tried, and the feeling lasts. Like most of Aveeno’s products, it smells good as well. People that know me think I’m a little obsessed with my fear of the sun. Personally, I think they’re all crazy for laying in tanning beds and baking for hours in the sun! I spent far too much time in my younger years wishing I was tan, trying quite unsuccessfully to “lay out”, and buying foundations that were several shades too dark for me. I’m trying to do my best to protect my skin now and hopefully, in years to come, it will thank me for my diligence. No matter how fair or dark you are, TAKE CARE of your skin – both with a good skincare routine and by protecting it from the elements, and hopefully one day, you can look back at your hard work and think ‘that was so worth it’ instead of looking back with regrets.

I have been so pleased with this product that I simply had to review it…

I received That Gal primer in a Benefit sample set that Sephora sold around the holidays – it included Some Kind of Gorgeous, That Gal, Posietint, and High Beam, all in small travel sizes for $10.  As with any other foundation primer I’ve ever tried, I was dubious whether I would get the desired effect…

The first thing I noticed about That Gal is that the consistency is much different than the typical silicone-based primers – it comes from the container looking much like a lotion, and a soft pink one at that.  It feels less greasy than many of those other primers too, absorbing quickly into the skin.  Another thing I noticed during application was the very pleasant, slightly floral scent – it’s not overpowering – just a sort of clean, slight fragrance.  As far as the product’s claims,  I don’t know whether it truly does “brighten” or not, but it does seem to, at least temporarily, on my skin.  I think this may be in part because I have fair skin, and the pink primer tones down any areas of yellowness and dullness.  However, it does make my skin feel extremely soft and smooth, giving a great base for my foundation.  That Gal definitely prevents that awful ‘foundation sitting in the pore’ look that reminds me of some horrible flesh-colored pimple.  I’ve noticed that my foundation lasts all day when using this primer.  After 4 hours or so, I will still start to get a bit oily in the normal areas – my nose and chin – and blotting will be necessary – so if you’re very oily this product is not for you.  I personally will be purchasing the full size when my sample runs out… despite the $28 price tag (this is my holy grail primer so I would probably pay more!).  Many of Benefit’s products seem to fall into this price range, but I think many of their line is worth the price for their quality.

Overall, I’d recommend this as a great everyday primer giving you a smooth, even foundation application and making it last… as long as you don’t mind shelling out the $28.