Wednesday 24 July 2013

Hits & Misses from Benefit, Chanel, Guerlain, MAC and Tom Ford

As I don't get round to reviewing all the makeup I buy, I'd thought I'd do a round up of some of the good and not so good items I have. I've had these for a while now so my photos will be of used products unfortunately (shudders....)

Lets start on a positive note, first up we have MAC pro long wear blush in Stay be me (£20). It has a lightweight feel and smooth texture, it doesn't break me out or go on patchy like a lot of MAC blushers. Best of all is the colour, which is great for those of us with pale skin, as its a sheer peach with a very faint sheen.

I am also enjoying the shadows from Benefits latest re-vamp, Nude Swings (£15.50) is a sheer shimmery golden peach. Though its quite sheer, its nice for a brightening effect on the lid and has a smooth texture.
Both products swatched below, Mac on the Left.


I find the Chanel Rouge Coco's have a discrepancy in feel, with some much dryer than others. I'd say Gardenia (£24) is one of the less drying.

Its a medium rosy pink with a subtle golden shimmer. Though I would have preferred a more matte finish, I find this a great shade to give a polished, professional look and it also lasts extremely well.

and here is what didn't work for me.......

I had intended to pick up one of the new shades from the recent Chanel collection Revelation, but unwittingly picked up a re-promoted shade called Amour #166 (£21). I'm not a fan of a thick, sticky formula like Chanel's Levres Scintillantes but do like the good pigment and wear time so tend to pick one up now and again. The colour is a peachy pink with sparkle. Unfortunately it goes on very sheer, furthermore I do not get the longer wear I would expect from this formula at all and I am very quickly left with just silver sparkle on my lips.
Next onto Guerlain Rouge Automatique Lipstick (£24.50) in #601 Romance (from the Spring 2013 collection). Though I have nothing against the formula which feels smooth with an average wear and offers good coverage, I was expecting a natural pinky nude. It applies as a very cool toned, somewhat milky pink with too high a frost finish.
Swatched below L-R: Gardenia, Romance, Amour


Finally we have Tom Ford Bordeaux Lust nail polish (£26)
The colour is a beautiful rich deep red wine with an average wear time.


My issue with this is the application as it goes on really patchy, no matter how many coats I use, I can still see unevenness.

I have heard that the seasonal releases since last fall have been a different formula so I might well try the nude or brown shade from this years fall collection but won't pick up any more from the regular line up.

So there you have it, congratulations and a golden star to you if you have read to the end :)

I bought all these items myself.

15 comments:

  1. I agree that Gardenia is one of the better Chanel lipsticks for wear time and is less drying than other lipsticks in the same line. I have Guerlain Automatique in #163, which applied true to the colour in the tube on my lips. There is a sheen to it but not a frost finish. This lipstick is also very hydrating.

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    1. Hi Maureen,
      I do usually really like Guerlain lipsticks so this shade was a let down, I think I need to check out reviews first before picking another shade :)

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  2. That's a really pretty TF nail polish shade. But for that price, the formula needs to be perfection, right?

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    1. Yes, it just didn't hit the mark, my pass rate with Tom Ford doesn't seem very good :)

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  3. They are all so beautiful-- such a shame that any of them are misses. There is simply no excuse for the Tom Ford nail polish to be anything but extraordinary at that price point!!!! xoxox

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    1. I know, they all look so pretty to begin with ;) funnily the things I didn't like so much were the buys that were unplanned xx

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    2. I know what you mean. More and more I find that I have to really institute a cooling off period so that I don't make frivolous unplanned purchases. You are so right the things that aren't planned for so often end up being the ones that gather dust in the back of the drawer! Have a lovely weekend, Clare <3

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    3. alas my unplanned buys tend to be regular as I have too many shops near me when I go on a lunch break ;) enjoy the rest of the weekend xx

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    4. when temptations are too difficult to resist they become unavoidable!!! You enjoy the rest of the weekend too! <3

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  4. I got a golden star :) aw I'm sorry some of the items you bought are misses. I hate it when I spend money on a product known to be of good quality and find that I don't like it. Have you tried the GA Flash Lacquers. I hear they are less sticky as compared with glossimers have have better pigmentation. I am usually not a gloss person but I was won over by it.

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    1. Proudly hands star over to Jacqueline :)
      I've not tried the GA flash lacquers, but I have plans to have a GA haul at some point as I have quite a list building up, thanks for the rec, I'll have a look into the shades x

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  5. Too bad about the misses but thank you for sharing them with us. I agree regarding the Rouge Cocos - the last one that I got (Amant) was luckily a beautifully smooth texture compared to for example Paradis which was way too frosty and dry in my opinion. And it certainly didn't help that the colour was all wrong for me either. X

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    1. Hi Klara,
      It is annoying when there is a discrepancy in formula such as with the rouge cocos. I'm terrible with frosty lipsticks as well, never understand the finish really as its not the most wearable x

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  6. I kinda sorta ... HATE chanel lipsticks lol I barely have any but I feel like my lips peel and dry out when I wear them . Maybe its just me and my alien lips :(

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    1. I don't think its just you as I have read this quite a bit on other blogs, I wonder whats in them that has this effect, maybe its the fragrance? Still, money saved and all that :) x

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