May 27, 2013

Beauty in a tick: Gorgeous Cosmetics iLine Eyeliner Pen

May 27, 2013/ Nicole McIntyre

For the rest of my days I'll be on the hunt for the next best felt tip liner. I thought I had it good with Gorgeous Cosmetics iLine Eyeliner Pen, but we had a fallout due to the liners' wandering ways. After a few hours of wear, the liner had managed to make it's way to my crease and lid.

Not ideal.

The goods…

It's a true black
Easy to wield
The tip draws and flicks with ease

The mehs…

Has a tendency to bleed
Flaked
Smudged

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Gorgeous Cosmetics iLine Eyeliner Pen:

$29.00 USD / $29.00 AUS -- I bought this liner at Salon Melbourne and received 40% off the retail price.

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

6 out of 10 bags – there are far better felt tip liners out there.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

I wouldn't be opposed to trying their Cake Eyeliner.

Do you have any eyeliner recommendations?

May 13, 2013

A peek at the cheeks: Gorgeous Cosmetics' Cheek Creme in Caramel Whip

May 13, 2013/ Nicole McIntyre

Brandied coffee, honey wine, creme caramel.. are you drooling yet?

Gorgeous Cosmetics packaged your next natural flush in a petite plastic compact -- the thing is, there are are six colours to choose between. Do you feel like a glass of tawny port or a helping of strawberry shortcake? It all depends on your appetite :)

I felt inclined to scoop up Caramel Whip. The texture is creamy, the colour payoff is equivalent to the contents of the pan (as it should be) and application is a cinch. For those who don't have a foundation brush, your ring finger will do. As for wear time, Caramel Whip lasted 10+ hours.

In terms of concerns, I was worried about layering a cream blush over my powder foundation. So, how did I overcome this? By repeatedly dabbing my cheeks. It was a "slow" uphill climb, but I eventually reached the burnt pink peak.

Now, who wants pie?

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Gorgeous Cosmetics' Cheek Creme in Caramel Whip:

$35.00 AUS / $35.00 USD

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

10 out of 10 bags — I like not having to think while applying my makeup

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

Look out, Strawberries and Cream!

April 25, 2013

Lipstick on the cheap: Gorgeous Cosmetics

April 25, 2013/ Nicole McIntyre

A few weeks ago I splurged and picked up five lipsticks for $25.00 when I attended Salon Melbourne. You read that right, I picked up five for $25! Normally, Gorgeous lipstick retails for $35.00/tube -- I took this as a sign to try something new.

Out of the five colours I chose, I was only happy with how well two performed. The other three, while pretty in hue, were disappointing. Hey, we can't win 'em all!

Swatches from left to right: Berry Intense, Innocence, Brigitte, Inspiration & Warm Mauve

Working from love to loathe, here are a few "tasting" notes I took down while test-driving all five colours.

Berry Intense is the star performer out of the bunch. The formula was creamy, the colour wore evenly and lasted for well over eight hours. By quitting time, I had to scrub my lips in addition to washing my face. Berry Intense is another true red within my lip collection and most certainly passes for a dupe of Giorgio Armani's Rouge d'Armani 400. Pick this colour up before it sells out!

Innocence is a muted rose red with subtle purple undertones. After four hours of wear it still managed to hold onto its glossy finish; hour eight marked colour dry out. Unfortunately, Innocence is sold out, check your local stockist for availability.

Brigitte, a soft pink with a touch of frost, wore unevenly over eight hours of wear, was drying and even emphasized flakes as the day progressed. While Brigitte is a beautiful colour, my gut's telling me there are better performers out there. Give Brigitte a miss.

Inspiration was less than inspirational. A tawny pink with orange undertones, Inspiration lasted six hours and sucked all the moisture out of my lips; I made it a point to scrub my lips in the ladies bathroom and start fresh with a random lippie in my purse. A definite skip in my book.

First off, let me start things off by saying Warm Mauve has to be an insult to "old lady pink" lipsticks. Warm Mauve is the worst of the worst. It was difficult to apply, drying from the start and didn't even last two hours. When I removed Warm Mauve last Friday, I think I also removed the top layer of skin on my lips. Bin this baby.

In the end I walked away with five colours for less than the price of one; reason being these colours have been discontinued as Gorgeous Cosmetics have released 30 new colours. The darker shades were the best performers and the most interesting -- they performed as good as, if not better than, Giorgio Armani and Burberry. My biggest hope for the newer colours is consistency in terms of wear, feel and overall performance.

Each colour has a personality of its own and adds a bit of flare to the day; I just don't want to have to worry about my lips looking like joke, because they are my pride and joy.

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Gorgeous Lipstick:

Five for $25.00 AUS on this occasion, however they normally retail for $35.00 AUS / $25.00 USD. Discontinued shades are now selling for $12.95 AUS until they sell out.

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

10 out of 10 bags for Innocence and Berry Intense
6 out of 10 bags for Brigitte
4 out of 10 for Inspiration
1 out of 10 for Warm Mauve

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

Jelly Bean looks good enough to eat!

Haven't heard of Gorgeous Cosmetics? They are a Melbourne-based company with a penchant for the stage, the screen and the runway. Their colours are on trend and vibrant. Recently, Gorgeous made their move to the States and Karen of MBB seems to like what she's tried so far :)

June 17, 2012

Maybelline Silken Taupe

June 17, 2012/ Nicole McIntyre

Do you LOVE Burberry's Pale Barley, but hate the price tag? Then look no further than Maybelline's Silken Taupe. I'm a sucker for neutrals; they are easy to apply, forgiving, can be worn alone or used to enhance an overall eye look. Maybelline's version retails between $3.00-$7.00 AUS, whereas Burberry shadows sell for $45.00 AUS. If you're looking for a steal, get ye to your local Priceline.

Can you tell how much I love that champagne shimmer? Honestly, I was surprised to see how they looked next to each other after swatching; beige can be complex, if you want it to be.

MAC's Shroom - light cream satin shadow with a subtle shimmer
Gorgeous's Sand Shimmer - beige loose powder with peachy undertones
Burberry's Pale Barley - brownish taupe shadow peppered with gold
Maybelline's Silken Taupe - see above :)
MAC's Palladium - Silvery beige cream shadow with a hint of gold

So, where do you draw the line? Does it come down to quality, price, brand, performance or all of the above? With Burberry, I know I paid for quality and the name; their shadows are finely milled, soft to the touch and last well with primer. Maybelline is soft and silky, but I had to work hard for the colour payoff seen above.

What would you do if you had to choose?

College Nicole would say "Maybelline!"

Adult Nicole ponders "why not buy both?!"