Quick Rave: MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Mattes

MAKE UP FOR EVER has officially joined the matte liquid lipstick game with the new Artist Liquid Mattes (S$35), available in 19 shades from this month at the MUFE boutique as well as Sephora.

What is different about these is they promise intense color in an ultra-matte finish that remains comfortable to wear. If you know me, you'll know that I haven't been the biggest fan of matte liquid lipsticks that came out in the past couple of years because they DO make my lips look and feel mummified. Dehydrated, tight, wrinkly. 

Some transfer-proof formulas are a little more forgiving than others (MAC's reformulated ones, Sephora Collection, NARS PowerMatte, and Rouge Dior Liquids do feel a little better in my experience), but in general none of them actually feel great. I'll usually sacrifice the transfer-proof quality for some pliability and comfort, and I am most definitely a fan of Colourpop Ultra Satins over the Ultra Mattes. 

Until these came along.

One thing I was immediately happy about was that they don't change color significantly when they dry down. Then again, a lot of newer liquid lipstick lines seem to do better in this regard than the formulas that came out a couple of years ago. You no longer have to wonder how much darker or more grey the formula will go after it dries. With these, the colors stay pretty true in my experience. You can see from the half-dried swatches that the wet spots are not noticeably paler or a different tone to the dry spots.

Contrary to the claims, these MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Mattes are not the most ultra-matte liquid lipsticks I've ever tried. In fact, they do dry down with a slight almost satin sheen to the surface. Like smooth calf leather instead of velvety suede. And this is not a complaint. 

Your lips don't look shriveled (or as some like to call it, like butt-hole lips). In fact, the formula won't emphasize lines unnecessarily, so they look more "plump" and smooth than they would with most other non-transferring liquid lip formulas. The other non-transferring formulas that have a similar smooth leathery finish upon initial dry-down are Dior's Rouge Dior Mat Liquids and YSL's Tatouage Couture, which will only launch in Singapore come Jan 2018.

You need to give these a moment to dry because of the slightly creamier, more hydrating texture. And like the YSLs and Diors, you can make these more matte just by pressing your lips together lightly after the product sets completely. That removes the satin finish and gives you more of the typical matte suede.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Matte in 401

These remain comfortable and feel lightweight for hours, which is another huge plus for me. Like some of the more emollient formulas, they are more "flexible", so they don't feel stiff or crack when you smile.

After a few hours, drinking water through a glass, and eating some chips, it did wear away in the center of my mouth where most of the oil and moisture was. But these can be touched up easily as well. I simply dab a small drop of liquid lipstick onto a clean finger and pat it around the bare areas to fill them in. The formula does not cake up when layered this way.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Acrylip Lip Paints Review

MAKE UP FOR EVER's new Artist Acrylips Lip Paints are full-coverage liquid rouges have been so fun to play with. They do remind me very much of Too Faced Melted Lipsticks, as well as OCC Lip Tars (although these have the added benefit of not separating in the tubes).

These come in squeeze tubes with flocked applicators just like Too Faced Melted Lipsticks. They are a lightweight cream texture with sheen, and I really enjoy how weightless they feel on the lips. You don't need to apply a lot for vibrant color, and these don't feel tacky or sticky at all.

I found it quite easy to apply these straight from the tips without having to use a brush, although you might still need a lip pencil to prevent bleeding into fine lines around the lips. To be fair though, I have not experienced very much bleeding with these but it always helps to be safe.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Acrylip Lip Paint in 202

I shot two lip swatches here for demonstration. 202 is a bright coral which I wore opaque without liner or base. The colors generally cover the surface evenly and are not streaky or patchy.

The other way I've been wearing a couple of the shades is sheered out like below. 501 is a deep dark vampy noir shade which I can apply full on for a dramatic look. But I actually also enjoy wearing it sheer for a deep berry-tinged effect.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Acrylip Lip Paint in 501

You can achieve this soft-edged effect by applying a small amount of product to the center of your lips, pressing them together, then using your ring finger to tap-tap-tap and spread the color outward. You can leave most of the color concentrated in the center for an ombre bitten-lip effect, or just spread it evenly for a  deep flush like this.

Spread and sheered out this way, the edge seldom bleeds because there is no excess product. This is true of most creamy lip products. This sort of softened-matte look is very fashionable at the moment. (Take a look at the Burberry Lip Velvet ads.) I just like the switch to a softer, less-severe look. If you'd prefer a liner beneath, use a flesh-toned one so you don't end up with the same hard edges.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Acrylip Lip Paints retail at SGD$33 in all Sephora stores in Singapore.

Two foundations with good coverage: Shiseido Synchro Skin and MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Stick Foundation

With the slew of lightweight cushion foundations and summery tinted moisturizers coming out these days, I find myself hankering a higher-coverage offering that doesn't sacrifice a fine, natural, skin-like texture.

One of the best this past season is Shiseido's Synchro Skin Lasting Liquid foundation. In terms of texture, it's pretty similar to other silky silicone-oil foundations like Diorskin Nude Air, Armani Maestro and Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua. However this formula is not bi-phase and doesn't separate as much as several others, which come in shaker bottles with little metal beads within.

There is nothing new about the concept of a super light liquid with high coverage. But what's different is how well Synchro Skin actually does it. 

What I love is you get instant coverage without a heavy, cakey texture, and it is shine-free but not flat, and powdery-looking. It smooths over pores and fine lines beautifully, doesn't settle into them, and while I wouldn't say it's as long-lasting or matte as something like Hourglass Immaculate Foundation, it does give an absolutely gorgeous velvet finish and stays very well through the day. 

My favorite way to apply this is with my fingers. You get the most coverage using the least amount of product that way - and this is not difficult to spread and blend. It has an almost airy liquid-to-powder type of feel, but doesn't go fully powdery. There is no shine - however there is still a radiance.

I have a little scab on my cheekbone under my right eye and this pretty much covered it up. I also did not apply any undereye concealer. This is able to correct and cover but doesn't crease and cake around fine lines under the eyes. Great if you need to pack light and want to skip concealer.

The soothing skincare ingredients and "smart" formula that adapts to the skin's needs is an extra bonus. There are a lot of more expensive foundations that don't do quite as much.

Of course - this is a very silicone-heavy formula so if you are allergic, I don't need to tell you to stay far away from this. The other thing to watch out for is many people is silicone-heavy formulas may "reject" certain other silicone skincare and primer products, like oil and vinegar. If you've had foundations slide off or "peel" and rub off during application, nine times out of ten it's because of incompatible silicones in the formula. There's really nothing to do except try with different skincare and see if it works better.

If your skincare works well with this formula though, it is beautiful.

Definitely a good one for oily up to slightly dry skins even, if you like a natural matte finish. I personally found this to be more matte than even the latest Revlon Colorstay formula for oily/combi skins. The shade does oxidize a little, so try to let it sit for an hour before you settle on a shade.

Another good thing? This is available in 12 shades in Singapore with different undertones (Rose, Neutral and Golden). The shade match for NC25 is Golden 2 or Neutral 2.

Now for those who want something even quicker and more portable, there is MAKE UP FOR EVER's new Ultra HD Invisible Cover Stick Foundation (SG$72, launching 31 March 2016). Ultra HD liquid is the foundation I wore for my wedding, so I was extremely excited to try the new stick version, especially since it was launched a while ago in the US, and we've been seeing it on all these vlogs and blogs.

The main reason you want to use this is the portability, how space-saving it is, and the super-quick application you get. You literally swipe, blend, and go.

I've used many cream foundations but usually when you blend them out, they can look slightly patchy, or crease easily. And they rarely look natural and adhere to the skin seamlessly. But then this is MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD, and if they dare to claim this works on 4k cameras, it's got to at least sit better than the average stick or cream foundation.

And it does. 

I used no sponge with this. Just my fingers - it blends right out and smooths in, looking incredibly "real". This is less matte than Synchro Skin and won't control oil or give a soft-focus effect; but you get a nice demi-matte finish and the coverage of a concealer without a noticeably "made-up" feel. I daresay you can go on camera wearing just this and no powder, and it would look like you rolled out of bed looking like this.

I don't consider this extremely long-wearing of course. That's not REALLY its purpose, but it does last satisfactorily well in humid hot weather, and I think anyone except the extremely oil and dry can pull it off. It does sit nicely under the eyes although it's not completely crease-resistant.

The one con is you only get about 4.4g of product. Not quite 4 lipsticks. Which means if you are intending heavy/regular usage, you will find yourself having to repurchase quite frequently. That's not a huge issue considering you get a lot less per shade if you buy a makeup palette - but MUFE tends not to be very cheap in any case.

If you are using it more for spot coverage as a lightweight, high-coverage concealer only where you need, then it's perfect. 

Which brings me to a brief mention of the Ultra HD Invisible Cover Concealer. I'm not a huge fan of them because I kinda feel like they don't give that much more coverage than the regular Ultra HD Liquid Foundation, and the stick gives quicker, more even, and longer lasting coverage faster.

I found when I applied the liquidy formula over the stick foundation, the moistness of the formula seemed to melt and break down the foundation and make the coverage patchy. I would definitely recommend them on their own, or used with the liquid foundation rather than the stick.

Also, I used it twice and broke out in rashes all over the areas where I applied it, so I set it aside and can't really give it a full and complete review anyway. 

If you like lightweight liquid concealers with medium coverage like the original HD concealer, and you don't get a negative reaction to the formula, go ahead and give them a try. They feel very similar to the originals to me.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Spring 2016 9 Artist Shadow Palette #3

I’m a big fan of the MAKE UP FOR EVER shadows because they have this very intense, creamy feel although I don’t always recommend them for newbies because the pricing of single shadows leans on the high side. So when they came out with the first neutral 9 Artist Shadow Palette for just SGD$69 it was a bit of a dream come true.

For 2016, they are releasing a limited edition Spring palette filled with fresh soda-pop colors. If you love colors in general, and want a mix of soft and strong ones, this is a more wearable alternative than Palette No 2 (limited edition in 2015), which leans towards strong, acidic tones.

This is a fun purchase to add to your collection if you already own some neutrals. There are lots of dusty pastels you can use for soft, sweet looks, and also some options for intense, bright peacock colors.

I especially love the gorgeous coral shade in the center, which has an iridescent gold glow. And the column of purples on the right make a beautiful trio.

This probably isn’t an item I recommend as a “first palette” purchase because you probably need a few neutral/matte shadows (brown, black, grey, etc) to use as transition and definer shades in the socket and along the lash line. That’s optional of course - if you like colors in the socket and along the lash line just go for it.

The most obvious way to wear the shades is to group them in columns top-down, and they look beautiful that way, but don't feel restricted to this. In fact, I would even suggest seeing this as a palette filled with single shadows - not necessarily that you need to create an entire look from within the palette. You also get 9 x 1.5g shades (each a full-size MAC shadow) for SGD$69 - which is incredible value considering you usually can't even get 2 full-size MUFE shadows for the price.

I did 3 different eye looks below using shades in the palette, and it's just a reference for how you can pick/pair colors, and also supplement your look with a matte color in the socket or dark pencil smudged along the lashes as a base to add dimension and definition.

Make Up For Ever Fall 2015 9 Artist Shadow Palette - 1

Look at this ridiculous gorgeousness!

The Fall 2015 makeup releases have barely started coming out and I already can say without a doubt that one of my top recommendations this season will be the Make Up For Ever 9 Artist Shadow Palettes.

There are 2 which will be available in Singapore at SGD$69 each (exact release date in July is yet to be confirmed at this point); a neutral palette which is permanent (No 1), and a pop color palette which is limited edition (No 2). I'm a neutral fanatic - and I have a few of the shades in the No 2 palette, so of course this was the one I picked to review. 

First of all, this is just ABSOLUTELY great value. Come on - you don't often find 9 x 1.8g shadows in Singapore (the typical MAC and UD shadows are about 1.5g each) - at this quality - for that price. If you have not tried any of the Make Up For Ever Artist shadows, you really need to. They are all buttery smooth and densely pigmented, and they're pretty much my benchmark for high-impact colors because they are much creamier and luxurious-feeling than typical highly-pigmented brands like Urban Decay and Inglot. 

But it can be a huge investment because MUFE Artist shadows don't come cheap. And to own  a good range of shades would usually cost you quite a bit more than $69. (You can usually only get 2 full-size Artist shadows for that price.)

The palette itself comes in the standard black and white box along with a booklet.

Unlike most cardboard packages, this one is hefty and heavy. You don't get the feeling when you pry open the lid that the paper is going to come apart or unglue itself at the joints after awhile. And the magnet is sturdy enough that you can probably travel with this and it wouldn't open up in your bag.

Ultimately, if you're looking for great products and you'd rather not be paying a ton of money for fancy packaging, this is it.

The shadows themselves come grouped in 3 trios. Each column is one "look", and the booklet shows you exactly which shades go together. 

There are also step by step guides for each of the 3 looks; Chic, Natural, and Smoky. So if you're new to all this and need ideas, they've got you covered.

But I'll say these are useful references. You can by all means mix and match any of the shades. They are neutral, and it's almost impossible to go wrong no matter which ones you group together. If you want a soft look, match 2-3 shades in the top 2 rows. If you want a dark, sexy, smoky look, wear colors in the bottom row.

Ultimately, no matter how many of these extra fancy stuff they include, it comes down to the quality of the shadows for me. And these rock.

The Chic trio is the only one that contains 2 matte shades. And they are super smooth. I don't get much fallout, amazingly enough. These aren't as powdery as a lot of other mattes around.

The Natural Look is more of a highly pearlescent neutral trio. If you want gleaming, dewy-looking lids in the most luscious metallic bronze and taupe tones, you will love this center column.

The Smoky column is more of a warm/gold trio to me. You get 3 metallics with a golden undertone; perfect for a beachy Gisele-esque effect.

And I swatched all these dry, without primer. That's how intense and rich they are. I can't say enough about what great value this palette is. If you were to pick up all 9 shades separately at full size, it would cost you easily close to $300 without a Pro discount. And that's too much of an investment for non makeup artists anyway. (Each full size Artist palette has 2.5g of product so you have to REALLY love a shade and use it to death to want to invest in the full-size vs getting an entire palette of 9 x 1.8g shades for a little over the price of 2 singles.)

I've yet to check out the 9 Artist Palette - 2 up-close, but I do have 2 or 3 of the shades (the neon pink, purple and one of the pale beiges) in a custom palette of my own, so I know the quality is just as outstanding. If you love the idea of having a mix of ultra-bright tones and having a few neutrals thrown in for good measure, then No 2 might be a better and more versatile investment for you.

FOTD wearing the Make Up For Ever 9 Artust Palette - 1 using the "Natural" trio.

The only criticism I MIGHT have if I really had to nit-pick, would be the fact that there are only 2 matte shades in the neutral palette (and what looks like none in the pop one). If they could include just 1 more matte in a pale color for blending, this would probably appeal to a lot more people. 

Still, this is just nit-picking. We can easily buy mattes and many of us probably already own some. The Artist matte shadows are great, but their stars are really the metallic and iridescent shades so I'm really not complaining about getting more of them in the palette.

Make Up For Ever Artist Plexi-Gloss Review

Make Up For Ever is replacing their existing lipgloss range with the new range of Plexi-Glosses from 2 April 2015, which will be available in 35 shades at the Pro Loft, and smaller color selections at all Sephoras in Singapore.

The new line promises high shine, extreme color, and great staying power, and I received 5 shades for review, so I'm swatching them all below, and giving you my thoughts on whether it delivers on the 3 promises above.

The new gloss comes in standard plastic tubes but has a rather interesting doe-foot applicator. This has been dubbed the Superflex applicator, and has an extended "flap" on one side which allows you to apply a bit more product in one swipe, and is slightly more flexible so the applicator won't also swipe the gloss right off your lips.

Does it work?

At certain angles yes. You can definitely get a lot more product on your lips than typical applicators. But if you get the angle wrong, the applicator will still swipe away some gloss just like regular applicators. So it's a hit and miss, although it's still a nice gesture because it does cut the amount of time you need to spend dipping back into the tube for more product.

The colors. Now they DEFINITELY deliver on the promise of vibrant, intense color.

Not all of them are opaque. It depends which shade you choose. But as you can see above, with the exception of the translucent sparkly beige (which is meant to be transparent), the rest are incredibly color-true and you can wear this on the lips without a base shade or liner.

You can click on the image below to expand to a larger size for a closer look at each shade, but I'm pretty darned impresswed with the color payoff. I typically do not like shimmery sparkly glosses, but I have to say the ones I tried were really nice.

I do have to point out that the very intense violet does stand out from the skin, which also makes it a bit more obvious where it settles into grooves on the lips, or may not be completely even. Not every shade works well on its own, and if you are ordering or purchasing any of the deeper colors in a non-sparkly texture, you should probably wear them over a layer of liner or lipstick.

And the shine? Well these sort of speak for themselves. They look like lacquer. Shine is definitely where this range excels without a doubt.

Make Up For Ever Plexi-Gloss lip swatches

The staying power is also great for glosses. Definitely on par with the typical cream lipsticks at least. But that does bring me to the one possible con about this product depending on your preferences when it comes to glosses.

It's sticky and quite thick. (If you've ever tried MAC Pro Longwear Lipglasses, these have a similar texture.) Which it needs to be, to stay on for hours and not bleed everywhere. But if you like those ultra-light, non-sticky glosses this will not appeal to you.

(Personally, I think it's unrealistic to expect a long-wearing, non-bleeding gloss to be non-sticky.)

You have to remember that if you have chapped, flaking lips, this will not feel comfortable. These thick gel-textured glosses are not moisturizing or balm-like, so it can actually make flaking lips a bit worse. Just be mindful and use the appropriate products at the appropriate times, and you'll be fine.

Final verdict?

If you like high-intensity glosses in a variety of finishes, and you want to make a statement with lacquered, dramatic lips, this is a GREAT range. The color selection is fabulous, and you can pick from soft neutrals to bright corals and violets to dark plums and what looks like a black shade. I'm definitely curious to check out more colors from the range.

I would especially recommend the richer pinks, corals, reds and plums, because these are where the color intensity and shine will really come through. For the paler, sheerer shades, they wouldn't necessarily look all that different from regular glosses you can get from other brands.

At SGD36 a tube, these are not cheap, so I would definitely stick with the more unique and high-impact colors if you are watching your budget.

However, if you have extremely dry lips or prefer lightweight, barely-there, balm-like "watery" textures like YSL Gloss Voluptes and Dior Rouge Diors, these would not be for you.

Make Up For Ever Arty Blossom (Spring 2014) palette swatches!

Arty Blossom is a fun collection of 8 shades ranging from browns to orange and bronze, to Powerpuff Girl colors of blue, pink and green, as well as an ivory.



The main thing you want to note is that this isn’t exactly a palette for people who are shy of color. Most of the colors are not your typical “everyday neutrals”. Even the 2 browns are very strong shades (unless you have darker skin, in which case those are really beautiful for everyday).

IRONICALLY, pink, blue, orange, and green look very strong in the palette but they’re quite luminous and pastel on the skin.They’re translucent so they can be worn on deeper skins without looking too chalky white, but this also means if you want any intensity, you will need to use them wet.

There’s a fair amount of fallout, which is to be expected for pigmented shadows. If you’re using the stronger shades, it’s better to do your eye makeup before applying your base.



The makeup pictorial above is to let you take a closer look at the colors and textures! (I did not wear any primer or base under the shadows and I used them dry, so that is the payoff to expect.)