MAC "Endless Night" Nail Lacquer

MAC Endless Night just came out with the Glamour Daze Collection and is a repromote from the Daphne Guinness Collection which was released in January 2012.

It's a color that is very hard to describe, I would say it's a very light muddy brown with pink iridescent shimmer, MAC says that it's a pale gray pink with iridescent pearl. Well there you go! :-) 

The shimmer that you see here in the picture is only visible because I photograph with flash and the shimmer particles really reflect. In real life, the pink iridescence is barely visible!

As far as dupes go, the only color that resembles it in my collection is OPI's Puerto Vallarta Violeta from their Mexico Collection, it's a little more on the lilac/mauve side but shares the same shimmery finish, even if the pearl is not as pink as in MAC Endless Night.

Many of you probably have way more nail polishes than I do and will more easily find a dupe!
*edit: Like Mina points out in the comments and many on Blogger seem to agree: Essie Demure Vixen is a possible dupe! 

In the bottle, OPI's My Very First Knockwurst from their recent Germany Collection also comes close, but it has a creme finish and no sparkles.

For me personally, OPI's Puerto Vallara Violeta is one of my all-time favorite nail polishes. It's girly without being kitschy, subtle, but with that extra kick of pink, shiny yet subdued. My swatch comparison - unfortunately - doesn't do it justice. I will try to make a better swatch sometime soon!

Here is a closeup of MAC Endless Night:

 

For all swatches I used:

1 coat of Essence Nail Art Protecting Base Coat
2 coats of colored polish 

 1 coat of Essence Better Than Gel Nails Top Coat

 If you want to see my complete MAC Glamour Daze Haul, click here.

Have a great Halloween everyone!

xoxo

Blusherine

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Stolen Moment Round Midnight

Hi everyone!

I used my two new eyeshadows from MAC's Glamour Daze Collection this morning, they are:

Extra Dimension Eyeshadow Stolen Moment (left)

Extra Dimension Eyeshadow Round Midnight (right)
 

I tried to use permanent eyeshadows for the rest of the look, so here we go:

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Stolen Moment (lid and lower lashline)

Round Midnight (crease)

Soft Brown (brow bone)

Brulé (highlight) 

Here is how I placed the shades:

 Application order: :-) 

I patted Stolen Moment on the lid with a Sigma E55 brush

I put Round Midnight in the crease with a MAC 217 brush

I blendend out Round Midnight with Soft Brown, using a MAC 224 brush

I applied Brulé with a MAC 227 brush

 

 For mascara I used MAC Plush Lash, but with a disposable mascara wand.

Here is another perspective:

From further away:

If you want to see the rest of my haul, click here.

Hope you like what I came up with!

Love

Blusherine

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MAC Glamour Daze Collection

It's a haul!

I went to the preview party for MAC's Glamour Daze Collection yesterday, and let me tell you, I went crazy! The packaging!!! I mean, look at these palettes, aren't they just the cutest thing?

 

I envision them on my future makeup table in my future makeup room (both not bound to exist anytime soon), they will sit there pretty, mainly to be looked at, because - honestly - if it was for the eyeshadows themselves, I wouldn't have bought one single palette. The testers at the party swatched horribly,  and I mean horribly. I am usually not one to complain about the quality in kits, but this time, I have to say, I am less than impressed! I still had to have two kits because I collect MAC special edition packaging and these were just too cute to be skipped.

Here is the Smoky Eyes palette:

Here is a quick look with it:

 The names of the palettes got me really confused. What they called the Smoky Palette would usually have been labelled as Cool Palette. They did a Neutral Palette which seemed kind of smoky to me, and their Warm Palette IS warm, but could easily have been called neutral palette.

I got so confused at the counter that I couldn't remember what to tell the saleslady, so I had to take her to the testers, point my finger and - like a three-year-old - say: please, I want that palette! :-)

I also got the Warm Eyes Palette:

 

Here is a look with it:

 

For more details on the look click here. 


All in all, there are too many lustre finishes or shadows that perform like lustres in these palettes. If I were a new customer to MAC and saw the chunky glitter and poor pigmentation I would be less than impressed. I would probably not come back to buy MAC's permanent eyeshadows since you can find smoother and richer colors at most any drugstore brand. As much as I love lustre lipstick formulas, lustre eyeshadows to me translate as gritty and colorless. I will make them work by using richly colored cream bases and then tap the glitter chunks on top of them. Hopefully that will work out all right. I am very disappointed though!

For my imaginary makeup table in my imaginary makeup room I also got the Gorgeous Bronze Face Kit: 

 

 

 

As if that already wasn't enough shopping, I also got 4 things from the actual color story, and these really ARE great quality:

Extra Dimension Eyeshadow Stolen Moment

Extra Dimension Eyeshadow Round Midnight

Blush Small Vanity

Nail Lacquer Endless Night (repromote from Daphne Guinness)

 

 Here is a look with Stolen Moment and Round Midnight:

For more details on the look click here.


I like the fact that they have diminished the size of the eyeshadows (from the original launch In Extra Dimension in April 2012). Of course, they could have diminished the price accordingly, but still, I like the small pans much better because I can depot them and they will fit into my palette. Also: i rarely ever like an eyeshadow as much as to buy a large size, and if I really do, I'll just buy a backup!

Here is a swatch of the nail polish, MAC Nail Lacquer in Endless Night: 

For more details and a swatch comparison click here.

The Extra Dimension Skinfinish Superb is also part of the collection but I didn't buy it because I already had it from the In Extra Dimension Collection. It's a great highlighter, I can really recommend it, it's high shine, but not chunky! Together with "Soft and Gentle" this is my favorite powder highlighter from MAC!

Here is a look with Small Vanity Blush and Superb Extra Dimension Skinfinish:

 

  
 Ever since seeing it online I also had to get the Hanging Travel Bag. I have been meaning to get something similar for a very long time and I am glad I could get one by my favorite makeup brand. Yay for the hanger!

 Last but not least I got the Mineralize Brush Kit. They did a really good job with the brushes this year, they are really soft and the shapes are good (not so much the shape of the small brushes in the eyeshadow kits, those have decreased in quality, visibly!).

 From left:

187 SE

130 SE

286 SE

282 SE

  So that was my haul!

Don't hate me for it, I have used up all my designated money for makeup shopping until the end of the year!!

 And to sum it all up, here is a picture that I will randomly call: post photographing mess...

The gorgeous model from the MAC flyer:

 

 If you're interested in more pictures from the event, go to:

Lillith's Dark Tower

Kirschblüte's Beauty Blog

xoxo

Blusherine

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Chanel Monte Carlo Lipstick

Now I never go to the Chanel counter just like that. When I'm at my local perfumery I might drop by, look at things and then - most of the times - move on to Catrice or Essence, which are located at the opposite site of the store and also on the opposite price range. I just don't see the point in spending so much on a single item of makeup, and at the speed I am buying makeup I'd rather try more things at a lower price than less things at a higher price. So whenever I'm at the Chanel counter I select carefully. Needless to say, I don't own much by Chanel (or by any other luxury brand for that matter).

But it was Woman Day last week in Vienna, and everything at Douglas was 20% off, so I splurged! :-)

I already owned a Chanel Monte Carlo sample in a small container and ever since trying it for the first time I had been wanting to get it. Before I went to Douglas I looked the lipstick up on Temptalia's site and was really undecided because - even though she rated it with a B+ - it didn't come across as great on her lips as my sample did on mine. So that really made me think again...

Usually, what looks great on Christine, looks good on me, 90% of the time, since we share the same skin tone - NC25/NC30ish with warm undertones - and are both brunettes. I am usually not even considering buying something that I don't like on her. So I must confess: shopping for me is very easy; I am able to blindly buy makeup by just looking at Christine's swatches, doesn't that make my shopping so much easier?! :-)

At the end, I went to Douglas to buy other things, I didn't know what to do, and at the last minute, on impulse, I got it. And here it is in all its splendor :-)

 Ladies and Gentlemen, my first Chanel lipstick:

Chanel Monte Carlo Rouge Coco Shine 

I would describe it as a soft, sheer, wearable, moisturizing, flattering pinkish red. I feel totally comfortable wearing it at the office!

So just one word: LOVE!

xoxo

Blusherine 

  

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600 Readers Giveaway

GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED! NO MORE ENTRIES PLEASE!
COMMENTS ARE NOW HIDDEN! 

Hi everybody!

It's giveaway time! :-)

To celebrate 600 readers (thank you all very much) I am giving away a brand new Berlin Palette from Catrice's last year Big City Life Collection. I have been meaning to do this giveaway for a very long time and finally, here it is.

The contest is open to all my readers, national and international, and the rules are simple:

1. You have to be a visible follower of my blog (new readers are welcome).
2. Leave a comment below telling me what your favorite eyeshadow palette is, leave your e-mail so I can contact you.
3. If you blog about my giveaway and post my giveaway-picture, you will earn another entry, please include the link where you blogged about it in your comment. You may use the pictures if you wish.
4. If you are below the age of 18, you need permission from your parents.

The contest is open until November 4, midnight, Austrian time (which is GMT+1).

The winner will be picked randomly!

Good luck everyone and thank you again for your loyal support!

Blusherine

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Catrice Berlin Palette Look

It's Catrice time!

:-)

The new LE palettes are out and the hype continues, but (thank god) this time without me...

Last time Catrice released LE palettes with the Big City Life Collection in October 2011, whole Vienna was on their feet! It was only sold at a handful of Müllers and each store only received six. Imagine the race! As soon as a picture popped up on a blog, twenty people ran to that store to try and get it! I did my share of running and was able to snatch one, but - between you and me - I didn't look pretty when I arrived: sweaty, red in the face, exhausted and just one thing on my mind: did I make it?

I did, and I bought the Berlin and the Sydney palettes, but this time around I am passing. The colors are just not up my alley, but I am still cheering for anyone who is out to get them!

The launch of the new palettes, however, was an occasion to get out my Berlin Palette from last year:





 And here is a look with it. Unfortuntaly, all the shadows look the same, because - due to the flash, they are all washed out! :-(


 
 

My friends Lilly, Nyota, Renate and I have often been discussing how difficult it is to take a decent picture of an eye makeup. We agreed that - most of the time - most of the shades look the same! What you see in the mirror is not what you see on the photo, unless you have excellent lighting and pro equipment (and possibly a patient "pro" boyfriend/husband to take your picture) :-)

Here I have a prime example for you!

I used five different shades for this eye makeup, but honestly, on the picture, I can only see two, a lid color and a highlight color. How unfair! ;-) Granted, the colors are all pretty muted and neutral, but still, it's frustrating to see that the flash washes out everything and that you can only see one color!

So yes I know, the colors are same same, but different!

:o)

xoxo

Blusherine

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