It
seems as if makeup companies are in a war to see just who can come out
with the best, most luxurious (i.e. most expensive) lipstick. Yves Saint
Laurent Rouge Volupté
and Gloss Volupté
. Guerlain Le Rouge G. Dior Rouge Dior. Chanel Rouge Coco. YSL Rouge Pur Couture. Lancô
me L'Absolu Nu. The list goes on.I
feel like some old-timer, talking to young kids about the good ol' days
when I see how many pricey new formulations are out there: "I remember when high-end lipsticks were around $20!".With spring's arrival and summer on its way, two companies in particular are competing
with sheerer, glossier formulas: Chanel just released their Rouge Coco
Shine lipsticks, while Dior revamped their Addict Ultra-Shine line.
Rouge Coco Shines retail for $32 a tube, while Addicts go for $28 a
tube. Chanel's come in 18 shades, while Dior's are available in 44 (with
extra shades exclusive to stores like Sephora). Chanel's packaging
wins, hands down in my opinion (come on, it's Chanel ;): a slim
black rectangular tube with a gold band and the Chanel logo on the top
of the cap. Dior Addict's packaging is bigger, chunkier, and futuristic:
a clear plastic rectangular cap with a silver band, while the tube is
rounded and silver, with a knob on the bottom. When comparing the
formulas, Dior Addicts are slightly more moisturizing and longer-lasting
on my lips. I own two of each lipstick; Dior Spotlight and Nude, and Chanel Biarritz and Cavaliè
re. Here are the tubes, side-by-side:
And some comparison swatches (L-R, Chanel Cavaliè
re, Dior Spotlight, Chanel Biarritz, Dior Nude):
In
Sephora the other day, "Glitter Glue" by Too Faced caught my eye. It's
an eyeshadow primer specifically formulated to lock down loose pigments,
shimmers and glitters. You can use Glitter Glue under or over eyeshadow. I really don't wear glitter often, but I love
shimmery shadows and have a lot of loose eyeshadows. I already own
Shadow Insurance by Too Faced (I own Urban Decay's Primer Potion as
well, and alternate between them), but my curiosity got to me and I
wanted to know if this lived up to it's claims.
It's
exactly the same size as Shadow Insurance, and both are in slim squeeze
tubes. So what's the difference? Shadow Insurance is slightly colored,
darker in color, with a creamier and thinner consistency. Glitter Glue
looks whitish but once blended is clear (truly clear), and is actually
somewhat...like glue! It's a little hard to squeeze out of the tube, and
it's thicker and tackier than Shadow Insurance.Shadow Insurance on the left and Glitter Glue on the right in all photos:
I
figured that since this is Glitter Glue, why not go all out and do a
crazy glitter eye to really put it to the test? I saw the Spring 2011
Louis Vuitton campaign in the new In Style, and the models are rocking a
total glitter eye, albeit a chic fashion version. There's gold on the
lid; a plummy pink up to the brow (on Raquel Zimmerman), on the lower
lashline and extending outwards, and black liner on the waterline. Brows
are bleached and penciled in with a very thin line, only along the top.
I don't own too many glitters, apart from a couple by MAC and a few
from Zink Color (not affiliated with them in any way- just
putting it out there. The Silver 3D is awesome- it's holographic). I'm
using Zink's here, and they're quite nice. Inexpensive, cosmetic grade
glitter in a variety of colors. Light Gold and Rosette:
Rosette
is really bright, but it'll have to do. I wanted to test out Glitter
Glue's claim that you can apply it over eyeshadow, so I laid down a very
light wash of Bobbi Brown's Copper Sand eyeshadow over completely bare
lids (I have no idea why my brows photographed as nonexistent in these photos):
I
applied the Glitter Glue (two very small dots) all over my lid, up to
my brow and even under my lashline, since I was going to pack glitter on
everywhere. Ladies (and gents)....Glitter Glue is awesome. The glitter adhered beautifully and it did not fall off! The only "fall out" was the occasional excess from my MAC 239 brush. Rosette
went over my crease, up towards my brow bone, under the lashline, and I
extended it towards my temple. Light Gold went all on my lid, MAC
Feline Kohl Power pencil went along my waterline and top lashline, I
curled my lashes and applied two coats of Rimmel The Max Volume Flash
mascara. I really should have used some falsies for this, but in all
honesty it was a last minute sort of thing on my part, so that's why I
didn't bother. An interesting side note about the effectiveness of
Glitter Glue: you'll notice there is a sort of bald spot near the inner
corner of my eye. I purposely didn't apply the Glitter Glue there, and
sure enough, the glitter didn't really stick!
I
feel like Lady Gaga....I just need an egg. A friend's brother saw this
and asked, "Are you going to Rio for Carnival?" Haha. Guys... ;) This entire look stayed and removed easily with my usual eye makeup remover (I use the Neutrogena oil-free one).
