RMS Beauty - Living Luminizer vs. Master Mixer

October 13, 2016 in Makeup

Early on in my quest for the perfect highlight, I found the rms beauty Living Luminizer and I kid you not, my life was changed. It was my first brush with a highlighter that gave the skin an actual dewy look, and from then on I was hooked. It's got a cult following for a reason. I finally got my hands on the brand's newer highlighter, the Master Mixer, so I thought it might be helpful to do a little comparison in case you're trying to decide which one to go for.

Both products feel ultra dewy and nourishing on the skin due to the oils they contain (mainly coconut). The list of oils differ slightly between products - the Living Luminizer boasts castor seed oil in addition to coconut oil, while the Master Mixer also contains jojoba oil and cocoa seed oil. I've noticed that the consistencies are slightly different - the Living Luminizer feels more emollient, thicker, and slightly more oily, while the Master Mixer feels a little stiffer and drier. I love how both perform on the skin, but if you're exceptionally dry you'd probably prefer the Living Luminizer, while more oily skins would probably gravitate towards the Master Mixer. Since the Master Mixer has that slightly drier texture, I like using it more than the Living Luminizer on my eyes, but I like the Living Luminizer more on my cheeks. Both are lovely dabbed onto the lips, but I think the drier texture of the Master Mixer wins out a little more here - sometimes I feel like the oilier texture of the Living Luminizer can break down certain lipsticks a bit.

Left: Master Mixer, Right: Living Luminizer

The other big difference is, of course, the colors. The Living Luminizer is a pearly white shade that is good for highlighting lighter skin tones. It's more of a translucent shade though, so applied sparingly it could also give a beautiful glow to darker skintones without looking too icy. The Master Mixer is a beautiful warm rose gold shade that would look stunning and natural on medium to dark skintones. On me, it's a little dark to be used strictly as a highlighter, but I like to wear it blended down over my cheekbones as more of a glowy cream blush.

The verdict? I love them both and wear them interchangeably, but if I had to choose, I'd say I prefer the Living Luminizer just because the shade looks more natural and dewy on my skintone. If you're someone with pale skin or skin on the dry side, I'd go for the Living Luminizer. But if you have a deeper skintone and/or want something that works well on the eyes, lips, and cheeks, I'd get the Master Mixer.

Have you tried anything from rms beauty before? Would you choose the Living Luminizer or the Master Mixer?

NARS Neutrals

October 11, 2016 in Makeup

I've always had such a love for a neutral lip - just something in between pink and brown that looks quite like my normal lip colors, just a bit more enhanced. Lately I've been so into NARS lip products, probably inspired by their newly-released Velvet Lip Glides, that I've noticed how many of these neutral shades I have from them.

Anita, Audacious Lipstick | The Audacious Lipsticks have one of the loveliest formulas I've ever tried. They're so incredibly pigmented, they glide onto the lips with ease, and they set to a satin finish with good lasting power. My favorite shade is Anita, a neutral rose-y shade that's a definite "my lips but better" shade for me - the intense pigment still lets it be known that you're wearing lipstick.

Rikugien, Satin Lip Pencil | The Satin Lip Pencils are my favorite of their three lip pencil formulas. They go on with more of a glossy sheen but set down to a more luminous matte finish that lasts well. Rikugien is another neutral rose shade that lets a bit more of your natural lip shade show through, making it such a pretty choice for every day. This one keeps more of its sheen as it dries down than the other two Satin Lip Pencils I'm going to mention, so it doesn't have quite as good of a longevity. It's still one of my favorites.

Bansar, Satin Lip Pencil | This is probably the best brown for my skintone that I've tried. It's got quite a pink tone to it, making it look like an incredibly natural shade of "my lips but brown-er." I can definitely see myself wearing this one down to a nub and repurchasing.

Het Loo, Satin Lip Pencil | I bought this one strictly because of Emily Weiss from Into the Gloss - in her Get Ready with Me video, she smudges this on her eyes. It's a warm red-brown, perfect for that '90s look. It really does look lovely smudged onto the eyes, although it does crease. This one is really pretty when smudged and worked into the lips - the subtle red tone leaves a "bee-stung" look.

Bound, Velvet Lip Glide | I can't even tell you how much I love this new formula. I tried this shade once and immediately hopped online and ordered another shade. It glides on like a beautifully thick and pigmented gloss, and as it sets the gloss wears away and leaves a velvety stain. The shade Bound is a nice mauve-y shade that works really well with my skintone. They have a couple warmer-toned nudes if this one's too cool-toned for your liking, but it's just beautiful.

Area, Velvet Lip Glide | This one is a little dark to be considered a neutral, but it's a true brown shade so I figured it could still count. The shade Area isn't quite as pigmented as Bound, so it's easy to wear more sheered out and add just a tint of brown to the lips. I'm sure some people wouldn't be too happy about this, but I love that it makes it more versatile - it doesn't get gunky or cakey when layering for a stronger look.

Top to Bottom: Anita, Rikugien, Bansar, Het Loo, Bound, Area

NARS has some of the best lip products out there, and I think I've started quite the obsession with the pencils. I definitely need to get a few of the matte ones next - I've had Bahama and Walkyrie (as well as Dragon Girl but that's not a neutral) on my wishlist for ages.

What's your favorite NARS lip product? Have you tried the new Lip Glides?

First Impressions: Surratt Beauty

October 08, 2016 in Makeup

I've realized that one of my favorite kinds of posts to write is when I get a few things all from one brand and give mini first impression reviews. This is kind of bad for my bank account - case in point when I got it into my head that I really wanted to feature Surratt Beauty next, which isn't exactly the most affordable of brands. I had been eyeing up the brand on the Sephora website for such a long time, especially after listening to the episode of Fat Mascara where they interviewed the brand's creator, Troy Surratt, and I finally decided to just throw a bunch of things in my cart and hope for the best.

Prismatique Lipstick, 'Lili Doree' | I got this piece a few weeks before everything else featured here, and it's really what made me want to try more. It was described on the Sephora website as a "bubbly rose champagne" which is just the best lipstick descriptor I've ever read - it basically immediately went into my cart. It's a beautiful peachy pink shade with a whole whack of golden shimmer in it - it definitely verges on being frosty. But because the shimmer is a warm gold, it keeps it from looking too dated and instead really enhances the lips and adds some brightness to the face. I've described it before as NARS Orgasm blush but in lipstick form. Despite being chock full of shimmer, it doesn't feel chunky on the lips whatsoever. It's a creamier, moisturizing formula, so it doesn't have the best longevity, but I'm still utterly smitten. When linking the product above I also saw the shade Jolie Laid, an "ambiguous violet taupe," and decided I need it.

Auto-Graphique Eyeliner, 'Chat Noir' | I'm not exactly sure what got into me when I decided I needed a $42 liquid eyeliner, when in fact I rarely wear liquid eyeliner. Something in me said this would be a good idea though and it would change my opinion on liquid liner, so I took the plunge. It has a brush tip rather than a felt tip - something that makes it miles easier to use for me. I'm so pleased with this - I can get two even wings on my first try! The formula dries to a matte black, which I prefer, and it stays put all day. I like that it's also refillable, so while the $42 price tag was eye-watering, it was just a one-time thing - the ink cartridge refills go for $18. I'll keep you updated on how long the brush itself lasts, because once that goes, I'll have to buy the whole $42 thing again.

Artistique Blushes, 'La Vie en Rose,' 'Aureole,' & 'Grisaille' | The thing I love most about Surratt's whole brand-aesthetic is the idea of customizable beauty. The eyeshadows and blushes come in minimal packaging because they're meant to be put into an empty palette. The brand sells these as well (I picked up the Grande size to house my three blushes). I was super interested in trying the powder products after listening to the episode of Fat Mascara I mentioned above, because Troy Surratt was talking about their revolutionary way of formulating their powders. Rather than taking dry pigments and pressing them, they use a "slurry" technique, in which the powder formula is first mixed into a liquid form, poured into the pan, and then the liquid is pressed/evaporated out. It supposedly leaves a much creamier finish than most powders. After trying the blushes, I think this is 100% true - they're some of the most buttery and creamiest powders I've ever felt. I got a highlight (Aureole), contour (Grisaille), and blush (La Vie en Rose) shade to get a feel for the collection, and they all perform equally well. The contour is a perfect cool brown that's not too ashy - it appears quite neutral on my cool-toned skin, so I've been wearing it more diffused over my cheekbones rather than concentrated underneath them. The highlighter is absolutely beautiful - a creamy white gold that isn't super intense, but rather gives the skin a soft luminescence. And the blush shade is lovely - a nice neutral pink that will go with anything (my favorite). They've got the perfect pigmentation for me, too - they're not so pigmented that you get too much and have to spend ages blending or look clownish, but they're not sheer either. It's the perfect in-between. I apply all three with my NARS Yachiyo Kabuki Brush in the mornings and it works well for all three shades.

Sometimes I feel kind of bad when my reviews are just full of raves with no qualms at all, but I really am head-over-heels for this line. I think I've started a dangerous new obsession. I'm dying to get my hands on the Lipslique lipsticks (Estee Lalonde has been talking about one of them lately so I need it) as well as make my own eyeshadow quad next.

Have you tried anything from Surratt Beauty?