MAC Toledo Collection: Swatches Part 1 and First Impressions!

MAC's collaboration with Isabel and Ruben Toledo is probably one of the most fun and eye-catching makeup releases of the entire 2015 Spring season. You can imagine I spent HOURS just taking product shots and swatches. I'll also be doing some looks as soon as I can, so stay posted!

First off, the collection features the following. (Please note there are a couple of items which are pending at present time, and I'll update the blog with visuals of the full collection as soon as they arrive.)

• 3 "Eye Shadow x 6" palettes
• 3 Blush Ombres *1 shade pending
• 3 Nail Lacquers
• 6 Lipsticks (Matte) *1 shade pending
• 6 Lipglasses
• 4 mascaras *1 shade pending
• 1 Makeup Pouch *visuals pending
• 1 Makeup Brush
• 3 Eye Pencils *visuals pending

The white packaging features Ruben Toledo's eclectic graphic designs, and are collectible in their own right. But all the packaging in the world can't make a good collection if the products don't actually perform. And I'm happy to say there are lots of gems in this collection.

Before I get into the swatches, I'll say first that my absolute favorite products in the entire collection are the lipsticks. They're ALL matte, ALL intense, ALL beautiful colors.

MAC Toledo lipsticks: (from left) Sin,Opera, Tenor Voice, Barbecue, Oxblood

If the sheer, glossy Lustre lipsticks in the Red, Red, Red collection aren't quite up your alley, you'll be VERY happy with the ones in the Toledo collection.

• Oxblood - nude with an apricot/peach undertone (like a paler sister of Kinda Sexy)
• Barbecue - tangerine red (a little more orange than Lady Danger)
• Tenor Voice - true red (similar to Ruby Woo but a touch warmer)
• Victoriana - cherry-pink red; I'll update with a swatch as soon as I receive the product
• Opera - deep blue-red (a less brown version of Russian Red)
• Sin - dark blackened plum (Diva with more noir)

Of these shades, only Sin tended towards the dry side and dragged on the skin when applied, similar to the Retro Matte texture you find in Ruby Woo. The rest were very creamy and smooth to apply.

Strangely enough, I would have thought they'd name Sin Oxblood, since that's more of an oxblood color, but - oh well!

MAC Toledo Lipglasses: (from left) Sin, Opera, Victoriana, Barbecue, and Oxblood

The Lipglasses are equally pretty, and very pigmented. The shades are all coordinated with the lipsticks, so if you want extra drama you can simply layer the matching shades over one another.

[Update] I actually missed out Tenor Voice when swatching these.
And you'll see why here.

Tenor Voice is the Lipglass that I missed out. And the 3 reds in the collection are so close in Lipglass format that I didn't even really realize I missed out one.

• Tenor Voice - true red
• Victoriana - red with a hint of cherry-pink
• Opera - red with a hint of blue undertone

I daresay you can get away with picking just 1 out of the 3 reds. These are very close to each other.

Now the Blush Ombres... ahh.

These aren't anything new, and Estee Lauder has ombre blushes in their permanent collection, but these are still pretty regardless. If you've missed previous releases, make sure to grab these with the Toledo collection because the motifed case is much cuter than the original round packaging with the see-through plastic lid.

Toledo Blush Ombres: Azalea Blossom and Kindergarten Red

There's a 3rd shade, Ripe Peach (peach ombre to tan) which hasn't reached me yet.

Ombre blush shades always look like they might be quite scary but if you've ever tried them before you'll know they are very soft and wearable colors. At the same time, I'm not sure if these would work on those with very dark skin, because they MIGHT go on slightly too pastel.

Still, both shades are gorgeous (I swatched them with an ombre effect so you can see how it would look on the skin) and I can't pick a favorite.

MAC Modern Twist Lash mascaras: Cligrafy, Tarot, and Vynil (yes it's spelt like this on purpose - at least I hope so)

I have to say I haven't had time to try the Modern Twist Lash formula yet, so I won't do a performance review here, but there are 4 shades available with the collection. Black, purple, a deep peacocky blue-green which is quite subtle, and a lime (which I don't have with me).

From the brush alone, I'm not entirely sure how obvious Caligrafy would be on the lashes - especially if you have dark hair. It's quite a subtle ultramarine.

The 3 palettes are the most eye-catching, but I do have to say the performance is not consistent. For every palette, the last shade on the right (dark matte) was consistently patchy and hard to apply. Most of the rest are quite smooth though.

Also, do remember that many of the shades are in the permanent collection, so unless you're a collector, make sure you swatch in the store and are sure you don't already own the shades you like most. 

MAC Toledo Bellgreens palette swatches 

All the shades in the Bellgreens palette were very smooth, except for Sushi Green, which was very patchy, gritty and hard to apply evenly.

MAC Toledo Moodyblu palette swatches 

If you like strong payoff and silky pigmentation, then the Moodyblu palette is probably one that would score the lowest points out of the 3, even though the colors ARE pretty.

Idol Eyes is a Lustre shadow in the permanent collection and not the easiest shade to work with because the flakes of sparkle fall all over and don't like to stick to the lids without a good base. You should not touch it with your fingers too much or it can seal over. Indigogo is very gritty and again, without a good base, the gold glitter in the matte blue will fall off. Exotic Purples was just very uneven and not easy to work with.

MAC Toledo Violetwink palette swatches 

Violetwink is probably my favorite in terms of the colors. It has 3 pinks and neutrals on the left, and 3 violet tones on the right, so you can wear it for a variety of occasions. But again, Overnight and Frizzyplum on the right are quite difficult to work with compared to the rest. (And I fancy myself quite an expert swatcher to begin with...)

Still the 4 shades on the left more than make up for it. Sweet Allure, French Clay, and Tendersmoke I don't remember having seen before and definitely are not in the permanent collection. And they're gorgeous. Stars 'n' Rockets is a popular favorite for pink/purple shadow lovers, so if you don't already own it, its inclusion in this palette allows you to create slightly brighter looks.

I'll get down to doing a few makeup looks with some of these colors soon - and also add on visuals of the items which are pending, but these are just my first impressions of the collection. Overall, I really like it and I'd definitely suggest everyone check out the lipsticks and glosses.

In Singapore, the collection launches 27 Feb in Sephora ION, and 3 Mar island-wide.

VDL Candy You Makeup Swatches

Hip Korean beauty brand VDL's Spring 2015 makeup collection is called Candy You, and features 2 bright matte lipsticks (SGD38) and an eye quad (SGD58) in shimmery spun sugar colors.

The Expert Color collection is VDL's premium makeup range, and tends to feature richer pigmentation and stronger colors, which explains the higher price compared to their more affordable general line of makeup.

The palette is Expert Color 09 Rainbow Popsicle. A very fitting name for the translucent sparkly tones.

It's not the most pigmented quad from the line by any means, but the look is mean to be translucent and girly anyway.

I would pair these with a brown liner just for a bit more definition, although that brown shade is rich enough to define the socket and lash line in most cases. I would DEFINITELY recommend pairing the pale shades with a deeper one at the lash line (so don't wear them alone). Otherwise you can look a bit puffy and rabbity, as with cases where you're wearing a lot of pale shimmery colors together.

The lipsticks on the other hand, pack a lot of wow.

The Expert Color Lip Cubes are one of my favorite Asian lip color lines around, for the intensely saturated color and long-wearing performance. Now they've come out with Lip Cube EX, and the 2 shades in the Candy You range are a "sensual matte" texture. They're similar to MAC's mattes. Very creamy and intense but also truly matte.

I applied the bright coral, 03 Heyy, over a bit of  balm so that's why it looks quite creamy here.

04 My Valentine is a bright purple-pink.

Do note that these are swatched and shot in artificial light, and because these are such bright pigments, they tend to look different in different lights. (I personally like them more in daylight.)

Favorites: Tom Ford Eye Color Quad 01 Golden Mink

Tom Ford Eye Color Quad 01 Golden Mink

I know all about obsessions with Tom Ford Eye Color Quads. After all, I own 8 of them.

As far as favorites go, I definitely have to go with the neutrals. They're a big investment up-front but they last forever cos you get 10g of product, and the shades are silky smooth, high-quality and flattering even if you have mature skin.

Out of the quads I have, the most-used one of 2014 has got to be 01 Golden Mink. Oddly enough, it's not actually my favorite neutral TF palette. I think Cocoa Mirage has a better balance of dark to light shades, and Cognac Sable has a more interesting and glamorous mix of smoky colors.

But for some odd reason, Golden Mink is still the one I reach for most often. 

Tom Ford 01 Golden Mink swatches

Maybe it's the versatility. You get 2 very wearable and flattering iridescent brown-tones; one a taupe bronze, the other a rich cocoa. These 2 shades are my regular whisk-on-and-go daily colors. 

At the same time, there are 2 sparkle shades. Now if you've never tried Tom Ford's glitter shadows, you'll be interested to know these are semi-cream textures. The ultra-fine glittery mica particles are suspended in a translucent silicone base, so they go on feeling dry, but they adhere and smooth on like cream shadows. 

My only criticism is that the 2 sparkle shades look very similar once applied on the lids and blended with the other shadows (both vaguely pale beige-gold sparkles), and they probably only needed 1 in there, not 2. Having a 3rd satin shadow there - like a champagne highlight color - would have given a wider range of look possibilities.

But still, this is a nice palette to have, and by far the one I've gotten the most compliments on whenever I've worn it out or shared looks on Instagram, etc.

My favorite way of applying it is to blend the taupe-bronze on the inner half of lids, the deeper chocolate shade on the outer half of lids. This gives a subtle smoky neutral eye which is pearlescent but not overly metallic. 

Then to finish off, I like to apply a concentrated strip of one of the sparkle shades down the center of the lid, and just around the tear-duct area of the inner corners, to create a subtle gleaming "wet" look.

Tom Ford 01 Golden Mink on lids, Anna Sui Length & Separation Mascara 001

Most times I'll jazz it up further with dark brown liner, but in most cases, this is a very easy and grown-up way to wear glitter. And I DO wear it to work in a conservative environment. 

NARS Spring 2015 Colors - Some Swatches!

NARS St Paul de Vence duo

 When someone saw a picture of St Paul de Vence I posted on Instagram, she missed the details in the caption and asked if it was Orgasm and Laguna.

This is actually from the limited edition Spring 2015 makeup collection, and it does have some similarities to the blush and bronzer duo because of the tawny coral-tan tones. But it's a lot softer and more wearable on the eyes of course.

I personally think it's a very nice warm duo, and while I wouldn't necessarily wear both shades together (one is iridescent and the other is satin, but the colors are close enough that on the eyes, the difference is not obvious), they're great for pairing with darker neutrals.

Just for the same of a demo, I wore both on the lids of course. The satin brown on the outer halves of the lids and in the socket line, and the iridescent coral-tan shade on the inner halves of lids.

NARS St Paul de Vence eyeshadow duo worn on lids

 For a soft warm everyday look, you can get away with wearing both shades together. I also imagine this will bring out the color in grey, blue, and green eyes.

The collection also features a lipstick and 2 glosses (of which I have 1 to show you here).

NARS Liguria lipstick and Vent Salé gloss swatches

Now these 2 I don't especially love, because they're not too easy to pull off. 

Liguria lipstick - If you have extremely pale or tanned/darker skin and want a nice caramel beige color, Liguria is actually quite pretty and creamy-feeling. It's a caramel with a soft gold pearl. On my medium-light yellow-based skin, it just kinda fades in. 

NARS Liguria lipstick

Vent Salé lipgloss on the other hand, is tricky. This is a thick pearlescent white gloss that reflects pale mint-green in the light. On its own it does sink into every line on your lip surface. And over other colors, you kinda have to consider what would work well with a green sheen. 

I like an interesting color any day but it does have to be flattering, and while I can see this as a dramatic lip-color transformer, I really can't see this looking that fantastic on most people.

NARS Vent Salé lipgloss

The item that will probably get lots of people excited is the new Illuminating Multiple, St Lucia, which is the first new color they've brought out in awhile.

Unlike the previous iridescent Multiples, St Lucia has a much finer glow and a texture that sets to a dry finish. Many of the older Multiples are obviously shimmery/glittery on the skin, and also have a greasier cream-blush formula which isn't always great for oily skins.

The best thing though - is the color. Most of the NARS Multiples are very warm and yellow-based, which on yellow-toned skins can look a bit too much. St Lucia is a tawny pink-bronze which sits nicely on most undertones.

NARS Multiple in St Lucia, swatched

It's not as pale as Copacabana, so it can't really act as a highlighter for lighter skins, and it's not deep enough to be a bronzer or blush, but it's really pretty all along the upper portions of the cheeks and cheekbones as a subtle blush/bronze sheen if you're wearing bronzer.

On deeper skins, it's a gorgeous highlighter.

NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation - First Impressions

Unlike many of the other luxe brands, NARS isn't one to push out a new foundation every year or so. So when they do launch a new one, I take note. Here's a quick first-impressions review and observations after I've used it about 3 or so days.

They've now jumped on what I like to call the "liquid ink foundation" bandwagon a la Armani Maestro, Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet, Laura Mercier Smooth Finish, YSL Le Teint Encre Peau (and many more brands), with a line of foundations that marry an ultra-light almost "watery" texture with very high coverage.

NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation texture

Unlike NARS' other staples, Sheer Glow and Sheer Matte, the new All Day foundation comes with a pump that's designed to give you just the right amount of product in a single pump.

I know girls these days like to really load on the foundation, but in this case, if you're using more than a pump, you are either applying way too much, or your brush/sponge is sucking everything up.

The recommended method for application is to tap (not rub) it on with your clean fingers, which is my favorite method for getting a seamless, air-brushed finish anyway.

NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation coverage

Coverage

The reason one pump should be enough for most cases is that it has a lot of coverage.

What the foundation does not cover in one pump, you should be using a proper concealer to cover. (And this is true for all foundations in general.)

It's got slightly more coverage than many of the other "liquid ink" foundation options, similar - or possibly even slightly higher than Laura Mercier's Smooth Finish Flawless Fluid, which is more of a dewy option.

Texture

On its own, this foundation has a natural velvety matte finish (somewhat similar to Chanel Perfection Lumiere or YSL Le Teint Encre Peau), so I reckon it would work better on slightly oilier skins than very dry skins. But I daresay most skins can get away with using this depending on what you apply beneath. I applied the foundation over very moisturized skin (I have dry skin), so it ended up with quite a lot of sheen even though it doesn't slide around and smear. Similar to Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet, the NARS All Day foundation does take on a similar finish to whatever you've applied beneath.

This is because unlike old-school matte formulas, these lightweight silicone based foundations don't actually contain a lot of powdery fillers like titanium dioxide and talc, so it does not have that heavy unnatural built-up matte texture. BUT this also means that if you have a lot of texture flaws (scars, acne, etc) this type of foundation won't be able to mask the uneven surface as well as a heavier thicker textured formula.

NARS All Day foundation on the skin

As you can see above, the coverage of the foundation is enough that it can reduce or actually do away with concealer application for most minor flaws. However, it's not opaque of course. I still need a tiny bit more concealing on old acne scars. Which is what I want anyway. Skin should still look like skin if you can get away with it.

But overall, it does give a very much more perfected look while doing a great job of looking natural.

Lasting Power

The foundation does set very quickly, and I haven't had problems with it oxidizing on my skin through a 12 hour day, although it did fade slightly towards the end. I'd say this lasts better than most of the other liquid ink foundations I've tried, although Chanel is probably equally good in this regard.

Of course, everyone's skin chemistry and skincare regime is different, so I'd request for a sample or try it on in the store and let it sit for at least half a day before you decide. 

YSL Black Opium Eau de Parfum Review

The original YSL Opium perfume was launched to great fanfare and controversy in 1977. And it's a spice-bomb of a scent, laden with incense, coriander, citrus, pepper, cloves, bay, jasmine, carnation, patchouli, cinnamon, orris root, peach, lily, rose, labdanum, tolu balsam, opopanax, vanilla, and tons of other ingredients. It's a complex fragrance that wraps around you like a boa constrictor, and you really need a certain personality to pull it off.

Even the watered-down modern incarnation is still extremely strong and heavy by current standards, and even though I consider myself adventurous as far as scents go, it's still not a perfume I can really wear.

YSL Belle d'Opium and Opium Vapeurs de Parfum

The brand has launched several variations in the last few years, including notable releases such as Belle d'Opium and Opium Vapeurs de Parfum. Each successive Opium has been much softer and more mainstream than the original, to the extent that I can't really say any of them even resemble the original at all.

• Belle d'Opium is a tobacco- and patchouli-centered, with a smoky herbal sweetness. Like a beautiful girl lying in a harem smoking a hookah.
• Opium Vapeurs de Parfum is a very translucent, mildly spicy pink-pepper and amber scent. More like a trace of soft oriental incense lingering in a boudoir.

Black Opium is the newest of the lot, and unlike all its big sisters, it doesn't have any trace of that enigmatic exoticism in its DNA at all. In fact, I feel YSL just decided it had to create an accessible new perfume to appeal to the younger masses, and decided to place it under the "Opium" franchise simply to add the impression of edginess that the scent actually lacks.

For some that's bad news.
What's an Opium that's not exotic??!

YSL Black Opium eau de parfum

On the other hand, it's a lot more generally accessible and I daresay will sell a lot better than most of the other Opiums. 

Despite the fact that the official press notes claim this is a rock'n'roll, dark, and mysterious interpretation, with dark coffee a major note, it really isn't.

This is a candied vanilla-jasmine with maybe a trace of sweet coffee (more a vanilla latte than gourmet black coffee). The pink pepper, cedar and even the patchouli - which is in all of the Opiums - are not even all that apparent.

If you like sweet warm girl-next-door scents like Katy Perry Meow, Taylor Swift Incredible Things, or Jessica Simpson Fancy, I daresay you will like this quite a lot. I do actually own all of the above listed scents, and I also wear Black Opium quite often because it's so gosh-darned easy to enjoy even when I'm pottering around the house. 

But it's FOR SURE not a scent I wear when I want to feel chic. And it's certainly not something I'd reach for if I want to feel mysterious and grown-up. If you're looking for complexity, mystery, and exoticism, look elsewhere!