A glimpse at the lips: MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Sunny Seoul & Coral Bliss

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I love me some MAC Cremesheen.  Love the way it feels, looks and performs.  Hot Gossip sealed the deal for me a few years back.  When MAC announced the release of eight new permanent colours I jumped for joy!  Then, I left work on Monday (during my lunch hour, of course) and purchased Sunny Seoul a.k.a Full of Seoul and Coral Bliss.

While we're on the topic, does anyone know why MAC is selling Sunny Seoul and Full of Seoul?  Can you spot the differences, aside from the names, price points and colour descriptions?  Here's a side by side comparison for you to ponder over.  MAC, enquiring minds want to know!

MAC Sunny v. Full

MAC Sunny v. Full

The differences between the two aren't all that vast when I wear them -- I can thank the colour of my lips for that. When swatched, Sunny Seoul reminds of Italian Ice, specifically the watermelon flavour and Coral Bliss is similar to that of orange sherbet.  Awwe, screw it.  Let's blow this popsicle stand and pick up a few ice cream cones, my treat!

Tip: If you have super-pigmented lips like me, first, I'd dab a bit of foundation on my lips and then apply my lipstick to increase the colour payoff.

Wear time is average.  I wore Sunny Seoul during an afternoon of epic pampering, by the time my massage was through (call it three hours) Sunny Seoul was nowhere to be seen.  Coral Bliss performed in a similar manner during drinks and nibbles yesterday evening.

If you want a low-maintenence look and don't mind touching up throughout the day, then give this latest installment of Cremesheen lippies a shot.

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for MAC Sunny Seoul and Coral Bliss:

  • $36.00 AUS/tube / $15.00 USD/tube

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

  • 7 out of 10 bags -- Hot Gossip is still my favourite shade!

Likelihood to purchase again:

Butter London's Scouse - weekly nail review

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This one's for my dad...

"Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes There beneath the blue suburban skies... Penny Lane."

Scouse is a specific British accent/dialect and a Scouser is someone who hails from Liverpool.  Did you know that Liverpool is John, Paul, George and Ringo's hometown?  And the song Penny Lane is an ode to Liverpool as well?

A little trivia for you.

Butter London's Scouse is a duochrome jelly-ish blue polish with specks of purple, blue and pink. I picked Scouse primarily for its colour; sapphire is my birthstone and felt it was fitting to wear a blue hue on my digits.

One coat will give you a sheer wash -- however, in order to get that really "Lucy in the sky with diamonds" shade, paint on two coats.

Better late than never - Chanel's "Soleil Tan de Chanel" Bronzer in Sable Beige

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My journey with bronzer has been a bumpy one.  P-Cakes, a.k.a Mom, purchased my first loose bronzer from Clinique when I was 16 or 17-years-old and I rarely used it in fear of running out. When college rolled around I added MAC's bronzer to my small makeup collection; it was deep brown with gold specks and I literally smeared it all over my face for that baked glow to match my fake tan.  I was fraught with so many makeup don'ts - I didn't blend and I was hitting the tanning beds much to my Mom's chagrin. As I got older, I learned where to lightly highlight my face for a sun-kissed look (down the bridge of the nose, along the cheekbones, temples and forehead).  Matte bronzers work well for contouring too - I'd recommend not tucking your summer makeup away come late fall and winter.

Young lady, put those flip flops back on and march on over to Chanel and check out Soleil Tan de Chanel in Sable Beige -- *fingers crossed* I hope it's still available.

Seven shades work together to give your face touches of a tan, a glow and subtle shimmer. Pow, boom, bam! That's the sound of a superhero emerging from the folds of the pan; if you look close enough, I think you can see him peeking out from behind the letter 'H'!

My (super)hero!

When "Hero" combines forces with my skunk brush, they pick up the brown bands to give me a natural tan; the gold and pearly pink bands are used to highlight my cheekbones; then swoosh, one last sweep all over to unite all of the colours for a flawless look.  If we dared to go one step further, we might even give the brow bones a one-two punch of shine.

To finish off this beachy look I swiped on Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine in En Vogue on my lips. Micro flecks of gold are set within a wash of watermelon-y/coral pink.  Easy to apply and wear -- tho, I wish Chanel nixed the scent of perfume in this particular range of lippies.

En Vogue

En Vogue

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Chanel's Soleil Tan de Chanel in Sable Beige & Rouge Coco Shine in En Vogue:

  • $90.00 AUS (I think) / $60.00 USD & $50.00 AUS / $32.50 USD

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

  • 8 out of 10 bags for Sable Beige – Expensive, but it's a decent bronzer
  • 6.5 out of 10 bags for En Vogue -- points had to be taken off for wear time or lack thereof and the scent

Likelihood to purchase again:

More green for your wallet with Essence Cosmetics

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"It's not easy being green" - that's what Kermit always exclaimed.  But someone's gotta be.  Let everyone be green with envy when you pick up a sweet deal, just don't let them in on the secret. Essence Cosmetics is a brand I first noticed in Amsterdam and Italy, but we never had a proper playdate.  As luck would have it, Essence Cosmetics now graces the shelves of Priceline; we're not talking about small seasonal cardboard stands anymore, the full range is upon us.

For less than $10 AUS I purchased eyeshadows in Kermit Says Hello (lime green) and Jazzed Up (holographic mint green with hints of shimmery blue) and a duochrome nail polish in Where is the Party? (deep algae greenish blue and purple-y grey).

I honestly didn't know what to expect with this budget beauty brand; I kept an open-mind throughout the process and finally had that long overdue playdate.

Essence eyeshadows are soft to the touch and the shadow comes off the pan quite easily; there wasn't much to and fro from pan to eye.  The colour payoff is average -- if you're looking for an element of intensity with Kermit Says Hello, I'd seek an extra helping and maybe even dessert.  Creasing was non-existent thanks to NARS' Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base.

If you want to stay on trend with your eye look, Essence has what you're looking for.

With respect to Essence Colour & Go polish, I cannot comment on performance because I was lazy and opted to wear Dior's Crocodile Leather Effects polish longer than I expected.  Nihrida was disappointed with the final look of Where is the Party? and provided funny commentary on the end result.  My only take away from swatching Where is the Party was the fact it dried fast.

Where is the Party?

Where is the Party?

I went with an Autumnal effect by smoking out the corners of my eyes with MAC's Mystery (I also use this colour to fill in my brows).  Recognize the rest of the makeup?  No?  Check out my NARS' Fall 2012 review from a few weeks ago :)

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Essence Cosmetics' Kermit Says Hello, Jazzed Up and Where is the Party?:

  • $9.05 AUS

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

  • 8 out of 10 bags – A great bargain beauty brand

Likelihood to purchase again: