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!

I’m expecting to do quite a few reviews from this collection. Well I am NOT a redhead, but that doesn’t matter with the BBR collection; the shades may compliment that particular skin tone, but they will work for anyone. Redhead Mineralize Skin Finish is a perfect example of this. This is a GORGEOUS shade that would truly work on any skintone, from the fairest, pale-skinned girl like me, to a dark-skinned girl!

The MSF’s in this collection are different than the past release’s in that the formula is a visible four shade degrade (in the past there were different colored swirls, resulting in some individual MSFs being less superior), in this case, from a salmon to gold shade. When swirled with a brush, they mix together on the skin. Redhead is a peachy gold that looks great worn over blush, in place of a blush, and used as highlighter on the forehead, cheekbones, nose, and chin (my preferred use).

Here is a picture of me wearing Redhead MSF over MAC Peachykeen blush

MSF’s are admittedly expensive, due to a price increase, now totalling $28. However, I still think they are worth every penny, and suggest you own at least a few! There is plenty of product as you use very little in each application so they should last you quite a long time. I’m planning to go back in a few weeks and purchase the Blonde MSF, which is a very pretty pink shade.

Quick wrap-up: 1. New four shade degrade formula in place of past formula’s much more variable swirls – huge plus! 2. Peachy/gold shade that is universally flattering 3. Lots of product 4. $3 price increase – boo 5. Limited edition 6. Multi-tasker as a highlight/blush

My verdict: The price hike does indeed suck, but MSFs are a quality product, and MAC did come out with something original instead of rolling out the same old ones… So if you’re willing to spend a little extra cash for something beautiful and unique that will indeed last you for a long time, Redhead MSF and the other two in the collection (if they swatch well on you!) are worth the $ !!

If I could sum this product up in three words… 1) Ew 2) Laughable 3) Gross

I was in CVS last night, and I actually wasn’t even looking for this mascara. I was hunting 1000 Calorie Mascara, and I wasn’t sure which company made it. I couldn’t find it, but I needed a new mascara, and I grabbed this one because of the shiny looking tube (typical me — oooo shiny!).

When I opened it this morning, I was extremely disappointed to see the old style tiny brush (and SO tiny at that!) that I haven’t seen since using the ol’ pink and green Great Lash Mascara that I used as a teenager (which Allure stuns me, year by year, for awarding as the best mascara; I just don’tget it). I love the big, textured rubber wands. They work wonders and it shocked me to see this antique in my $7.49 mascara tube. Oh well… When I started applying I realized the wand WAS slightly different. The grips on the side separate your lashes pretty well.

The next problem is the formula. I inserted the wand back into the tube and when it reappeared, I actually thought my wiper at the end of my tube be defective because so much nasty, goopy product came out with my wand — this is likely due to the extremely small size of the wand. I did my best and somehow managed to apply my mascara evenly without smearing it.

When I got to work today and checked myself in the mirror I realized that there was flaky fall-out on my cheeks… Yech… Despite this, my lashes are actually very nicely separated and defined. They look thicker and much fuller than usual. Another check a few hours later revealed more flaky-fall out on the cheeks (WTF?!) and smudges under the lash line — a problem I have really never had with a mascara. It’s a real shame since the formula seems to work so nicely with my lashes… I think I’d like it even slightly better than my Define-a-Lash, if it weren’t for the obvious issues.

Quick wrap-up 1. The world’s TINIEST wand as far as I’m concerned 2. Wiper doesn’t work – goop is likely to smear mascara on your eyes 3. Flaky fall-out on your face in no time! 4. Smudges! 5. Great for definition and volume but not worth the cons 6. Far overpriced at 7.49 retail

My verdict: What the hell is Revlon thinking even keeping this mascara on the shelves.

Geez I’m sorry for the harsh review put this just pisses me off. I’m returning this as soon as I get home. What was I thinking even straying from my beloved Maybelline Define-a-Lash?