comparison

Lise Watier Simply Nudes Eyeshadow Palette

~ stashy ~ 61 Comments

I rushed to get this review up because I just couldn’t hold off on testing this puppy out and sharing my thoughts.  The Lise Watier Simply Nudes 12-Colour Eyeshadow Palette is from the Variations de Nude Spring 2016 collection:
Lise_Watier_Simply_Nude_3
I’ve neglected my Project Focus 10 palette (the Smashbox Double Exposure) so I could wear this beauty all week:
Lise_Watier_Simply_Nude_2
I picked this palette up when I redeemed my Optimum Points, so it didn’t cost me anything, but the retail price of this palette is $65 CAD, for 12g of product (1g per colour/pan).  For those of you not familiar with the brand Lise Watier, it’s a Canadian mid-range cosmetics line that I would compare to Stila or Smashbox in terms of quality – you can read more about the brand philosophy here. It is sold at Shoppers Drug Mart, select Sears and Hudson’s Bay locations. “Lise Watier” is pronounced Leez Watt-ee-yay. 😉

Continue reading →

Beauty Blender Battle

~ stashy ~ 92 Comments

[I’ve had this post in draft mode for ages!  Random timing to post this but no time like the present!]

The Beauty Blender needs no introduction.  These hot pink egg shaped sponges cost a whopping $26 each and have spawned a slew of BB-like sponges.  So is a $26 sponge 26x better than a $1 one?

For years, I refused to succumb to the Beauty Blender.  I resisted and bought the dupes to satisfy my Beauty Blender curiosity.  I simply could NOT justify paying $26 for a flimsy little egg shaped piece of foam.  So I bought some off ebay, and a few from drugstores before I finally decided to get the real thing during the Spring 2013 VIB sale.  I’ve been using my stash of makeup sponges for a while now.  Let’s have a look at how they stack up the the original Beauty Blender:
beautyblender2
L to R [These are arranged from the most airy / porous (L) to the most dense / heavy (R)]:
• Beauty Blender (hot pink) – $26 [note: I paid $26 for mine but I see that it’s now $28 – damn that exchange rate!] (Sephora)
• MAC Pro Performance Sponge (orange) – $24 (MAC)
• Quo Blending Sponge (purple) – $5 (Shoppers Drug Mart)
• Sephora Airbrush Sponge mini (teal) – $12 for 2 [bought this during Black Friday sale 2014] (Sephora)
• Blending sponge from eBay (black) – $1 (shipped from China)
• Kit Super Blenders (mint) – $12 for 3 (Rexall)

Continue reading →

MAC Party Line Lipstick

~ stashy ~ 59 Comments

Finally, I’m getting around to wearing MAC Party Line!  I got this a while back as my Back to MAC item, where I returned 6 MAC empties for a lipstick.  That was back in September.  But the shade I chose was quite a deep plum colour, more of a Fall-looking shade that I had to wait until recently to wear.
MACPartyLine4
Plus, I had to work up the nerve to wear this deep colour! 😮
Continue reading →

TBT: MAC Twig

~ stashy ~ 72 Comments

In today’s Throwback Thursday post, I’m showing my MAC Twig lipstick:
MAC_twig4
The colour in itself isn’t really a throwback, although I’m willing to bet money that the shade has been around since the inception of MAC.  But what’s TBT about this lipstick is the bullet.  It’s silver.  And no, it’s not a limited edition.

Continue reading →

Milani Luminous vs Luminoso

~ stashy ~ 28 Comments

To conclude “Comparison Week”, I have a quick post to compare 2 Milani blushes side by side: Milani Powder Blush in #08 Luminous and Milani Baked Blush in #5 Luminoso.
Milani_Lum2

Continue reading →

MAC Prim & Proper and dupes

~ stashy ~ 29 Comments

Ahh, this blush. THIS BLUSH. I love it, and I hate it.  Well, I mainly hate the fact that I didn’t buy a back-up of it.  It’s not the blush’s fault. But the love I have for it… yes, I want to marry it.
MACPrimProper2
It was part of MAC Give Me Liberty of London collection from 2010.  MAC’s official shade description is “neutral nude” which really downplays how nuanced the colour is.
MACPrimProper3
It’s a shimmering bronze nudey shade, yet it’s got a plummy-ness to it as well.  It registers as both warm and cool tone on the skin, depending on the rest of my makeup look.

Continue reading →

Inconsistent Products

~ stashy ~ 61 Comments

Today I’m looking at product inconsistencies.  Specifically, how does a product differ from batch to batch?  This might be a crazy thing to some people, but I do own multiples of the same makeup item because I like to have back-ups or have more than one to use at the same time (as in the case with makeup brushes).  Here are some things that I’ve found to be inconsistent:
inconsistent6

Continue reading →

MAC 217 Blending brush and the like

~ stashy ~ 33 Comments

The 2nd installment of “Comparison Week” will feature the ever popular MAC 217 Blending Brush:
MAC217brush7
This versatile brush regularly appears on “Best Makeup Brushes” lists due to its high quality and multi-purpose-ness (yes that’s a word now).  It is rated 4.7 out of 5.0 on MakeupAlley with 946 reviews and 92% stated they would repurchase this brush again.  It is a universally lauded beauty tool.  But should you rush out to buy one?

Continue reading →

MAC Face & Body vs MUFE Face & Body

~ stashy ~ 43 Comments

This post kicks off “Comparison Week” here on the blog!  I’ll be comparing a bunch of products, showing differences and similarities, and maybe even unearth some dupes!

Today I’m comparing 2 foundations with the same name: MAC Face & Body and Make Up For Ever Face & Body.  Having the same name and similar claims naturally lend them to be compared against each other.  Since I posted my base stash not long ago, I had a few questions about my opinion on them, so I hope this comparison will help.
MAC_MUFE_FB2
MAC F&B comes in a plastic squeeze bottle, whereas MUFE comes in a glass bottle with a pump (the addition of the pump is a recent phenomenon, it used to be just a pour bottle).

Continue reading →

Shiseido facial cotton and possible dupes?

~ stashy ~ 37 Comments

I’m a facial cotton snob. It wasn’t always this way, but ever since I tried my first package of Shiseido Facial Cotton, I haven’t looked back.  Let me qualify that – I don’t use Shiseido Facial Cotton exclusively – I only use it for removing my eye makeup.  The pillowy softness of this cotton is especially appreciated against the delicate skin around the eyes.  Now when I use non-Shiseido cottons on my eye area, I feel like I’m using sandpaper (I exaggerate, but really, like 80-grit).  For everything else – toner, exfoliants, nail polish removal – I use other cottons.
Shiseido_cotton8
I was happily shelling out $9 per package for the Shiseido cotton, until one day, about 2 years ago, the Shiseido counter lady informed me that the price was going up soon… to $11 per pack!  That’s a 22% increase!  In my mind, this crossed over some imaginary threshold, and this item became “too expensive”.  I rushed to purchase half a dozen packs of the cotton at the $9 price.  My current stock is still the $9 price, but the supply is dwindling. Then I began to notice that drugstore brands were coming out with their own versions of square facial cottons that look suspiciously similar to the Shiseido cotton packaging:
Shiseido_cotton2
So I set out to find out if they’re dupes!

Continue reading →