Can MAC's New VV Magically Cool Powder Make Your Flaws Disappear?

Yes ladies & gents, I gave in to the mystique of MAC's new Magically Cool Powder from the Venomous Villians collection. How could I resist trying out a powder product that claims to feel like a cool liquid upon contact with the skin?

I tried out the lighter of the two shades Truth & Light. I have read other's opinions of this powder and still couldn't figure out what to use it for, so I figured I would go with the lighter of the two shades, thinking I could always use it as a highlighter.

So what happened when I stuck my 109 brush in this mystical product and started tapping it against my cheekbones.......oooooeeeeeeeeeehhhhhh!!! A tingling, cooling feeling of a chilled cream being buffed into my cheeks!!

Yes, this actually feels like a cool liquid upon first touch to the skin. The feeling only lasts a few seconds, which is nice, because I wouldn't want to feel like the coolness all day long. Yes, this product is definitely cool....in both senses of the word!!

I tried my best to photograph it for you, and if you have a good eye, you can see there is a patch of lightness on my skin in the swatch above. There is a bit of ultra fine shimmer to this product, so I prefer using it as a highlight...on the cheeks, browbone, wherever. You can apply this all over the face if you want a dewy look. It won't look shimmery or glittery, but it will add glow. The first time I tried it out, I tried it all over my face just to test it out, and I didn't look shiny, but I did have that J.LO glow.....not necessarily a bad thing, but not good for everyday or for photographs.

Kajal Couture Overall Rating: A-

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: I gave this a high score for uniqueness and because it's just pretty darn cool. It isn't the most amazing highlighter I have ever come across, but I do like it, and now I am tempted to get the darker color Cajun to use as a contour or cheek color. By the time you read this, I will probably already have ordered it. =)

What do you think of this? Whether you want it or not, go ahead and play around with it next time you are at MAC just to experience the cool-liquid magic! What are you planning to get from the Venomous Villains collection?

Joe's, Giotto's, Jacque's, Ming's.....This Trader Has it Going On!!

This is totally unrelated to beauty, but I think some of you can relate. Especially my mom...

The hubby and I made our first trip to Trader Joe's after moving to our new city, and we went a little crazy (and this doesn't even include refrigerated or frozen foods):

I love everything about Trader Joe's! The sauces, the breads, the pastries, the cheese, the tofu....EVERYTHING!

Where do you "trade"?

Have you gotten your Illamasqua on?

Have you tried anything from lllamasqua? They launched in Sephora about a year ago and they make some pretty interesting products....like their Liquid Metals...which I have been dying to try pretty much all year long!! Well, the Illamasqua angels heard me and sent me the Liquid Metal in Solstice...a GORGEOUS golden color:

Liquid metals are cream products that can be used anywhere. They are softer than cream color bases, but more solid than liquid products. Straight out of the tub, on my finger, it looks like this product is super pigmented:

Will Lush's The Sacred Truth Reveal Your Truth?

Don't you just love it when someone guesses your age as younger than you really are? You feel a sense of giddiness and pride....like you really could be that age they guessed!

In today's world we all want to look younger, firmer, and tighter...and what better way to achieve results than naturally? That's where Lush's The Sacred Truth Fresh Face Mask comes in:

This mask is supposed to brighten the skin and help fight the signs of aging, with ingredients like wheatgrass, ginseng, green tea to fight free radicals, coconut butter and evening primrose to keep skin soft and flexible. 

I'm not sure if it is making me look younger, as I don't have bad wrinkles yet, but this definitely makes my skin look noticeably brighter and feel super soft. The texture is a bit smoother than some of Lush's other fresh face masks, but has a few small chunks of the greens that are in the mask. 

I can't believe I just posted that pic for the world to see, but I wanted to show you how it looks on the skin. =)

Overall I love how this makes my skin feel, not dry and not oily, just perfectly smooth and soft, and I love that it makes my skin bright and supple. I will definitely be purchasing this again in the future.

Kajal Couture Rating: A

Have you tried any of Lush's masks? What's your favorite?

Finally...a look!!!!

Yes, yes, I know, I said I would be back and posting regularly, and I have sorta not been....but really, I promise, I'm back!

So here is a quick look I did recently...I call this my quick and easy daytime smoky eye.

Sorry for the blurriness of the photo above, but I inadvertently deleted the others so I didn't have another one to post. But something is better than nothing, right?! 

Super Duper Stila (and other brands) Sale

Hey lads and lasses! Remember awhile back I told you about the site Hautelook and how they have major sales on brand name goods, including cosmetics? Well, this week is Beauty Week on Hautelook, and they are having some major discounts on brands like Lorac, NYX, and RapidLash! In fact, today there is a Stila sale!! Click here to sign up and starting saving mayjah moolah on the brands you love or always wanted to try out!

Happy Shopping!

Secretly Excited!!!

So girlies, guess what!!! I am secretly (ok, not anymore) very excited about something and had to tell someone who would actually care!!

Drum roll please....

There is a MAC store and a Lush store within 15 minutes walking distance from my new place!!!!! Woooohoooo! Jumping for joy! Eeeks! Yayyyy!!!

If the hubby is reading this, he is probably pouting because now he knows where all the money will be going....hehehe.

The hubby and I moved in to a new place in Philadelphia (yes, that's where I moved to) and we are in the city, meaning lots of things to do and places to see, and best of all....we can walk to a lot of them! We can even walk to the theater that shows all the Broadway musicals here!! Yes, I am not-so-secretly very excited about that too! This will probably be the closest to the living-in-NYC experience I will ever get, but I don't mind because it's pretty similar and NYC is only a hour and 15 min train ride away. I have always wanted to live in NYC and living in center city Philly is very similar, and with each new cool hangout (or shop) that I discover, I am becoming more and more happy to be living here.

And for your viewing pleasure...a photo of the Philadelphia skyline:

(photo from askville by Amazon)

Sneak Peak - New MAC Pro Longwear Foundation and Concealer Review

Hopefully this sneak peak of the new MAC Pro Longwear Foundation and Concealer will make up for my lack of posts during the last couple weeks. ;)

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on the new foundation, concealer, and lipsticks (review coming soon) before their big nationwide release tomorrow. So what's my overall opinion? All products are AMAZING!! Especially the foundation and concealer:

First off, I have to tell you about the Pro Longwear Foundation. This stuff is everything I ever wanted in a foundation and MORE!! I have nothing negative to say about this foundation except, why didn't they invent this sooner?!?!

This foundation provides medium coverage that can be sheered out for light coverage or built up for heavier coverage. It actually does a superb job of evening out the skin tone and making the complexion flawless. What I love most about this is that even with the good coverage, it makes your skin look natural. Yes...NATURAL!!! Most foundations that claim to give a natural effect still can look cakey or too matte or too shiny. This gives the most flawless look of any foundation I have tried to date, while still providing a good amount of coverage. And if that wasn't enough, it's longwearing! It is supposed to last 14 hours, which it probably does, as I didn't test out the wear time, but I have worn it a for a few days in a row, and it does last from morning till night, without fading or altering. This foundation also makes the texture of the skin look amazing....can you tell yet that I am in love with this foundation?

                                      nozzle can pump                              nozzle locked

So just to throw in another great thing about this foundation is that you don't need to purchase a separate punp for it and that it has a built in pump, so you get the perfect amount every time. What's even better, is that you can lock the pump, as pictured above. 

The consistency of this foundation is also great...not sticky, not thick, not too watery, not heavy.....just perfect! And very easy to blend!

In this swatch I tried blending out the foundation so you can see how easy it is to blend. The photo makes the foundation look a bit glossy, but that is because of the flash and the product is not glossy like that. In case you want to know, this was my shade NC30.

Kajal Couture Overall Rating: A+

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: This is one foundation I will definitely repurchase, instead of trying the next best thing in foundation. Nuff' said. 

Now on to the Pro Longwear Concealer:

I usually only wear concealer on my under eyes for important events, not everyday, because I can never find one I like enough. Guess what? I have been wearing this everyday. =) 

This is creamy, not too thick, but provides great coverage. It doesn't crease if you set it with powder, it lasts all day, and blends easily. The first time I wore it, I was amazed...it instantly brightened my eyes and my whole look!

Like the foundation, this concealer comes with a pump. I like that because it's not messy like concealer pots, and you don't risk contamination like with doe tip applicators. It is very hygienic and easy to use. The only problem is one pump is way too much product for one application. That being said, you only need to use a teeny tiny bit in order to get good coverage, so even if you used one pump everyday, this will last you forever. However, if you are careful, you can press the pump ever so slightly just to get a half or quarter pump worth of product.

This swatch shows just how opaque this concealer is, but that it can be blended out. Again, the pic makes this look glossy because of the flash, but the product itself is not glossy. Again, if you are interested, my shade for my under eyes is NW25. 

Kajal Couture Overall Rating: A

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: I really like this concealer due to its coverage and the fact that is lasts all day and does not crease. I wish the pump provided less product, but that is a minor thing for me and I highly recommend this if you are in the market for a concealer. 

So...will you be checking out either of these products? 

MIA

Hey!!! Soooo sorry I have been missing in action (MIA) for awhile. My hubby and I are moving in to a new place and we have been so busy with the move. Not to mention we are still getting adjusted to East Coast living and all the madness that entails....hello jughandles!?!?

Anyhoo, I have sooo many things I want to share with you, including my take on the new MAC foundation and concealer being released this week, so stay tuned...cuz I'm back!!!! =)

Two Unexpected New Faves For My Nails

As you may know, I recently moved across the country. When I first moved, I didn't bring much stuff with me, as I shipped most of it with the moving company. Well, by about the second week, I still hadn't received my stuff, and I desperately needed some girl time and I wanted to paint my nails, so I ran to Walmart to get some nail polish remover and some polish.

I had been meaning to buy some polish remover for awhile, but I haven't been able to find my favorite one...the purple Revlon one. I think they discontinued it without me knowing, so I blindly chose the next best option, Sally Hansen, in the moisturizing formula, in hopes it would resemble the purple one and not dry out my nails.

Guess what? This really works!! It easily removes all my polish, and doesn't dry out my skin or my nails! I actually like this enough that I would repurchase it after it runs out, rather than trying something else! 

Kajal Couture Rating: A

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: Not a whole lot to say, it easily removes nail lacquers, doesn't stain the nails, and is actually moisturizing! What's not to love?

The next product I purchased was the Sally Hansen Double Duty Base and Top Coat:

I picked this combined base coat and top coast because I didn't have either product with me, and I was feeling too cheap to buy 2 separate products. In the end, I am glad I found this because I really liked how this product performs. I used one layer as a base coat, applied 2 coats of colored nail polish, and topped it off with one more coat of this, and voila, I did a whole manicure with only 2 nail products! So how long did it last? My manicure was flawless for a good 3 days. At the end of the 2rd day, beginning of the 4th day, I did notice some slight chipping, which is a lot better than a lot of other top coats and base coats I have tried. It might not be the best product on the market (some claim to help your manicure last 7 days...but I haven't found that to be true), but it definitely works. And for $4...it's a great product for a great prices! Oh, and if you travel a lot, that's one less product to carry with you!

Kajal Couture Rating: A

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: This combined base and top coat makes my manicure lasts a good amount of time, doesn't stain my nails, is available at just about any drugstore, is affordable, saves space in your nail kit, and it works!!!

Too Faced Sale!!

Hello lovelies! Yes, I know I have been a bit MIA but I have been quite busy the past few days. I wanted to let you know about the Too Faced Cosmetics sale that started today on their website:

Also, if you use code TFSU when you check out, you get an additional 20% off! And yes, that applies to the sale products!! Happy shopping!!