BECCA Ever Matte Primer~ Photos and Review

Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector

A little while ago I purchased Becca's Ever Matte primer in search (yet again) for a primer that would actually reduce the appearance of pores on my face and help keep me matte during the day. Primers are supposed to also improve the application and wear-time of your foundation too, but honestly I expect those things from my foundation to start with, for me I want a primer to help my skin look smooth and flawless (which if you don't know already, it's about as far from perfect as it can get sometimes).

I must say that although this primer is different than any other primer I've tried before I really like it. At first I was a little wary as this stuff is thick! There is a major trick to this primer and to get it to work. 

See how thick it is?

Firstly you need to make sure you shake the bottle before use. Then you squeeze out the smallest amount and warm the product up between your fingers so it becomes more emollient. Then working quickly spread it onto the places of your face that get oily. 

Due to the thickness of this product I don't recommend using it anywhere you don't get oily. I personally only use it on my nose, centre of my forehead in the middle of my chin and the top of my cheekbones where my pores are the largest as well. 

I wouldn't say it makes my pores invisible as it says in the name but it does reduce the look of them and best of all it keeps me matte all day. Plus you need so little this bottle is going to last me a while. 

Once it's on this feels almost powdery and satin-like. If you spread it thin enough you can barely feel it in my opinion though some people may find it too thick or film-like for them. To me it's a much nicer feeling than the oily feeling my forehead and t-zone becomes after a couple hours. Plus if you forget to put it on before your foundation it works just as well if you dab some on over-top. 

In addition to this it has a simple ingredient list and is okay for my super sensitive acne-prone skin. The only thing in it that could cause problems is Butylene Glycol (a solvent and moisturizer) but it's only rated a 1 out of 5 on the comedogenic scale, the rest of the ingredients are all zeros. Plus there isn't any silicones in this either (a group of ingredients that causes my skin trauma). 

Heres the ingredients list: Water, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Propylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylene Glycol, Enantia Chlorantha Bark Extract, Oleanolic Acid.

Unfortunately Becca is an expensive brand so if you're going to get this ( $44 CND for 1.35 oz) I recommend getting it on sale. You can get it from Sephora (they have biannual sales for Beauty Insiders getting 10- 15% off.) Dermstore stocks it as well and they occasionally have sales too. I purchased mine from Artisan Boutique online because they seem to have a 20% off weekend seemingly every other month (sometimes more). I sign-up for their e-mail to get sales alerts, so I got my Becca primer 20% off.

 Overall, though this is a bit finicky to work with I love this product. For anything professional or occasion I want to look my best I can see myself using this. It can feel a tad much for casual days, but I can see this becoming a staple in my stash.  

Rating: 9/10 This lost half a point for price and half a point for not perfectly concealing the look of pores. Other than that I really like this. Very unique, excellent ingredients, and it works so well.

Would I buy this again? Yes. I like this better than many of the other primers out there, plus it doesn't break me out which is a huge plus.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Eyeshadows~ Swatches and Review Part 2

This review is going to feature Periwinkle Cardinal and Delicate Hummingbird.

To view Abyssinian Catbird and Resplendent Quetzal go to Part One!

Or there is Bashful Flamingo and Fire-Tailed Sunbird in Part Three.

Male and Female Northern Cardinals

Firstly for Periwinkle Cardinal. Gosh this name kills me. No Cardinals are Periwinkle in colour. None. There are 3 species of Cardinal, the Northern Cardinal as seen above, the Vermillion Cardinal a slightly orangey but still red cardinal and the Desert Cardinal seen below.

Desert Cardinal from E.J. Photo

As evidenced from the photos none of these birds are purple-blue (i.e. periwinkle). None of these birds are the green-blue of this eyeshadow either. WHYYYY?!!?!?
As a zoology major this bothers me. There are so many lovely birds that would fit this eyeshadow perfectly, even ones that are related to Cardinals such as the Indigo Bunting.

Indigo Bunting from Birds of Corpus Christi

Anyways, for this post we also have Delicate Hummingbird. This is also not named after a specific species of Hummingbird but I think we can all agree that Hummingbirds in general are rather delicate so I don't mind so much. Here are some photos of Hummingbirds that match the purple-taupe of this eyeshadow. See the purple-taupe bits on his belly?

Purple-Throated Mountain-Gem Hummingbird from Jim Scarff photography

Purple-throated Mountain-gem Hummingbird photo by Latafat Correa

So gorgeous!

L: Periwinkle Cardinal, R: Delicate Hummingbird

Periwinkle Cardinal is interesting as depending on the light it can look medium pine green with blue undertones, or blue with silver undertones. On the lid it's semi-sheer meaning it looks like your skin shows through the shadow at certain angles but not when you change the way the light hits it. If you build it up you can get a more intense look but it never quite covers your skin colour entirely. This allows it to be very wearable of course but is something to keep in mind if you like a more pigmented eyeshadow look. Personally for the depth of colour I was expecting something more pigmented as this semi-sheer consistency is better for a highlighter shade in my opinion. Delicate Hummingbird is similar in that sometimes it looks distinctly purple whereas other times it looks quite silver-taupe.

Left pair is over bare skin, middle is over Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Right is over Pixie Epoxy

As you can tell Delicate Hummingbird is the more pigmented shade. It's easy to build up and almost creamy in texture. It's also the longer lasting one, actually living up to the claim of long lasting. As with Abyssinian Catbird in the first part it seems to do best over bare skin for the long-lasting claim. Periwinkle Cardinal seems to fade over time, but lasts slightly more than Resplendent Quetzal from part one. It doesn't however last all day and it doesn't seem to do well over primer either. 

T-B: Urban Decay Flipside, Hi-Fi Slime and Snails, Barry M Kingfisher, Rouge Bunny Rouge Periwinkle Cardinal, Too Faced Rich Bitch duo blue side, Wet n' Wild dark green from Snow Sprite palette, Urban Decay Misdemenor

As you can see none of these really comes close to Rouge Bunny Rouge's Periwinkle Cardinal. Too Faced Rich Bitch has no green tones and has a gold highlight, whereas Hi-Fi's Slime and snails isn't as deep has a duochrome and mini glitter as well as lacking green undertones. They all seem to lack the silvered sage look that Periwinkle Cardinal has too.

Top: Rouge Bunny Rouge Periwinkle Cardinal, Bottom: Darling Girl Serenity

Then thinking I was finished of course I found a closer shadow match for Periwinkle Cardinal. Darling Girl's Serenity is very close in tone and just a tad bluer. It's also sparklier whereas the Rouge Bunny Rouge shadow is more satin-metallic in finish. Honestly on the eye I think either would work.

T-B: Urban Decay AC/DC, Urban Decay Mushroom, Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicate Hummingbird, Scaredy Cat Cosmetics Arctic Royal, Almay Green Eyes Trio purple shade

Delicate Hummingbird I actually found a very close dupe for as well. Surprisingly it was in one of my old Almay trio palettes called Trio for Green Eyes. The purple shade (if you can get ahold of that palette, I think it was discontinued but may still be avaiable online in some places) is a satin, less silvered version of Delicate Hummingbird. Delicate Hummingbird has better pigmentation and is a tad more complex but they are very close.

Would I buy these shades again? Though I have a dupe of the Delicate Hummingbird I would purchase this shade again due to the lovely pigmentation it has the neutral but still fun shade of it and the decent wear-time. The Periwinkle Cardinal I would not purchase again however due to the strange semi-sheer consistency of it. If I wanted that it would be great but I was hoping for a richer more true to pan colour, as it is a lovely unique shade. The only way I can see myself wearing this shade is over Pixie Epoxy whereas at least with Delicate Hummingbird I can wear it without extra prep.

Sprite Rating: 8.5/10 for Delicate Hummingbird, 6.5/10 for Periwinkle Cardinal

What does everyone think? Do you like either shade?

Rouge Bunny Rouge Eyeshadows~ Review and Swatches Part 1

This will be my first foray into designer high end cosmetics. Which basically means very expensive but luxury products. I had heard so much about Rouge Bunny Rouge being a wonderful brand and that their eyeshadows were noteworthy that I decided to take advantage of their summer sale one night when I was feeling especially crappy. I did research the heck out of these before purchase though due to their expense. I read a ton of reviews, looked up a bunch of swatches and even chatted with some people on a makeup forum board (Make-up Alley these peoples are the best!).
(This is Part one, you can see Part Two of the review Here!)

I did purchase six eyeshadows and one liquid blush/ gloss duo which will be divided into four reviews so you can really get an idea. As I spent over a certain amount I also received a free metal keychain too.

First some general thoughts. I hated the shipping method. HATED IT. Yes it shipped surprisingly quickly but if you don't order the minimum for reduced international shipping it costs about $20. That's crazy. Plus I wasn't told when the delivery man was coming so I missed the first two times he came as I was out of town. Then I found a slip on my door saying they weren't going to deliver again and that I owed an additional $40 in delivery fees and taxes (the taxes I'm okay with, I don't like them but they are a reality. However over $20  in extra delivery fees that I supposably already paid for was just bullsh*t.) Then I had to spend over half an hour trying to contact the delivery company (DHL if you're interested) just to get them to try and re-deliver, as their main office to pick up the package was hours away. Then of course the delivery I stayed home for didn't come. I had to spend another half-hour trying to contact them again. The blithered on about how they didn't know why the package didn't come. Basically if I hadn't called they wouldn't have delivered it again despite having made an appointment. Then I had to play phone tag for a bit with a supervisor to insure my package came the next day (holding up three of us before we were supposed to leave so we were there for the stupid package). On top of that the man wasn't exactly pleasant. You can be sure I will never be doing anything with DHL again and if I buy from Rouge Bunny Rouge again it won't be through their main boutique website but through a retailer instead.

Now onto the shades I purchased. I got Abyssinian Catbird a midtone brown khaki shimmer shade in a refill pan (a much cheaper option for a tad less product and no fancy package. The pan size is that of a Mac shadow.)
I also purchased Delicate Hummingbird in the same style (refill pan). Delicate Hummingbird is a medium-dark purple taupe shimmer.
Resplendent Quetzal is a lovely soft lime green with a tad of gold. This is also a shimmer shadow and it came in the full eyeshadow packaging with the single 2.4 gram pan in the black solid compact. It has it's own small mirror and like all the eyeshadow packages the strange flower fluff silhouette on the top.
Fire-Tailed Sunbird is in the full packaging too and is a medium-light coral peach with a pink reflect.
Periwinkle Cardinal is a midtone green-aqua shimmer. It's quite unique with an almost silver-blue shimmer to it.
And finally I bought the full size matte eyeshadow in Bashful Flamingo a light peach-pink almost skin colour shade. This is also 2.4 g in size and in the same packaging as the shimmer shades.
The lip gloss liquid blush duo I purchased was in Rumba- Cubana. The lip gloss (Rumba) is a lovely cream rosewood shade that is a perfect my lips but better shade and the liquid blush is in a dark peach-pink.

This first review will be for Resplendent Quetzal and Abyssinian Catbird.

Resplendent Quetzal Photograph from Judd Patterson Photography

Abyssinian Catbird photo by Rockjumper Birding Tours

Both of these eyeshadow names are based off of real bird species. I actually adore the Resplendent Quetzal, it may be my favourite bird species. So beautiful! With Resplendent Quetzal you can easily see where the colour of the eyeshadow came from but I looked and looked at pictures of Abyssinian Catbirds and couldn't for the life of me find any khaki or bronze on them. This bothers me as there are so many bright and colourful birds out there with every colour plumage in the world and you name an eyeshadow after one that doesn't have any on it. So weird. I mean use the name, just match it to the colour, like the beautiful red-orange on the species rear. That would be a lovely shadow and fit the name.

L: Abyssinian Catbird, R: Resplendent Quetzal

Above is in the direct sunlight. As you can see Abyssinian Catbird is a rich brown-khaki and Resplendent Quetzal is a light lime with golden tones.

L: Abyssinian Catbird, R: Resplendent Quetzal

Above the same eyeshadows in indirect light.

Here are the two shadows swatched. The first pair on the far left is without any primer, just on bare skin. The middle pair is on Too Faced Shadow Insurance, and the last most intense pair is on Pixie Epoxy. As you can easily tell to get the most out of these shadows you have to layer them over Pixie Epoxy, especially the Resplendent Quetzal. As for the long lasting claim on these I've found only the Abyssinian Catbird can live up to it- and only on bare skin. For some strange reason these don't stick around over primer, so sadly these shadows need to be layered over top of Pixie Epoxy. Which is a bit of a pain for a pressed eyeshadow.

The Abyssinian Catbird is really rich in pigment. I hardly have to use any at all to get the look I want. It also doesn't crease on me. The Resplendent Quetzal however needs multiple swipes to get the intensity you want from it. However because of this you can get a very wearable even office friendly look. It's a very subtle green due to it's warm tones. Unlike a bunch of other greens (even the closest of my stash shades which you can see later on in the review) it isn't in your face. They're both lovely unique shades but overall the Abyssinian Catbird is the better shadow. However both fade over eyeshadow primer relatively quickly when in comparison to over shadows and to really come alive you need them either wet or over Pixie Epoxy.

I wanted to show how unique the two shades are so I swatched them over Pixie Epoxy beside anything similar in my collection. Some were way off as you can tell!

T-B: Morgana's Crypt Mordred, Rouge Bunny Rouge Abyssinian Catbird, Urban Decay YDK, Mac Sumptuous Olive, Urban Decay Half Baked

Above is the similar shades for Abyssinian Catbird. As you can tell none of them are all that close to be considered dupes. Then of course after I finished that arm and washed it off I found another one that was closer and needed to compare it too so that's the photo below.

Top: Rouge Bunny Rouge Abyssinian Catbird, Bottom: Venomous Cosmetics Curse of the Werewolf

Curse of the Werewolf is the closest out of my collection and it isn't the same. A lovely contrasting colour I think as it's deeper than Abyssinian Catbird, but not a dupe. Curse of the Werewolf was Limited Edition but the nice think about Venomous Cosmetics is that the owner is very personable and easy to talk to, and if you ask nicely you can most likely get her to sell you the shade. (I've done this in the past with a shade no longer on the site and she generously found/mixed-up the shadow for me! How wonderful is that for customer service?)

Next of course is the closet of my stash to Resplendent Quetzal.

T-B: Venomous Cosmetics Fairytale Collection shade 4, Barry M Sparkle Dust in Emerald (72),  Nars eyeshadow duo right side in Wicked, Rouge Bunny Rouge in Resplendent Quetzal, Almay trio for Green Eyes lightest green shade, Urban Decay Homegrown

I've marked with a black circle in pencil eyeliner beside the Resplendent Quetzal swatch so you can easily move your eye back and forth between the shades without constantly trying to remember which is the real one. I know I always tend to lose the shadow in question and have to find it again. Hopefully this will help anyone else who gets easily distracted!

Top: Wet n' Wild Snow Sprite middle green, Bottom: Rouge Bunny Rouge Resplendent Quetzal

And of course like the Abyssinian Catbird shade I found a closer shade after the fact too. This one is from the old Limited Edition Wet n' Wild holiday palettes that came out in 2011. It's the second/middle of the green shades from the Snow Sprite palette. The Wet n' Wild shade actually has a green reflect you can only partially see in the shot above whereas the Resplendent Quetzal has a more golden tone. However I wouldn't say you need both.

The Rouge Bunny Rouge web boutique offers a 20% discount to established bloggers if you contact a representative. I also purchased these during their summer sale so I did get a bit off there too. However normally these are priced 20.17 Euros or approximately $26.88 USD for the larger shadow in the compact. The refil pans are 14.29 Euros or approximately $19.04 USD. No matter the currency you choose on the site you will be billed in Euros so keep that in mind.

The Resplendent Quetzal is in the full compact size and the Abyssinian Catbird is in the refill size. If you can get the refill size, do so as they are the size of a Mac eyeshadow pan and will fit into almost all refillable palettes. I don't recommend buying their refillable empty compacts due to the price of them. If you're like me you aren't ever going to get through a full one of these shadows anyways.

Hebridean Sprite Rating: Resplendent Quetzal 6.5/10, Abyssinian Catbird 8.5/10

Would I buy these shadows again? As much as I like the Resplendent Quetzal (especially the name) I wouldn't purchase the shade again as I do have the Wet n' Wild Night Elf palette. The warmth of it is wonderful and very unique but I dislike you need to use Pixie Epoxy or another sticky base to make it last all day.
As for Abyssinian Catbird due to the richness of the shade and the excellent pigmentation as well as the ability to last on the lid (even if it doesn't cooperate with primer at least it doesn't crease, though it does fade a bit) I would purchase it again, even with the crazy price of these. It's very unique and much more complex than my photos show.

There is more of the Rouge Bunny Rouge products reviewed in Part Two and Part Three.

Marc Jacobs Style Eye Con No. 7~ Swatches and First Impression of The Vamp and The Tease

The Vamp palette

Hey so here is another couple items I swatched on my latest trip to Sephora. Again I don't know about the animal-testing status for Marc Jacobs but I haven't purchased anything from them yet and will not until I can get confirmation that they are cruelty-free (of course if they do animal-test then I will not obviously).

The two of the four palettes I swatched are The Vamp and The Tease. These are the most colour of the palettes there is also The Starlet and The Lolita.

The Tease palette

Here are The Vamp swatches. 

All of these shades I found well pigmented, especially the matte shade. Unfortunately I couldn't understand why they'd put two very close to black silver glitter shades in this. One is more black-blue and the other more black-grey but they are so similar it seems a bit stupid to me.

 The Tease palette swatches. Sorry they're a bit blurry- Sephora lighting isn't the best. Again these eyeshadows are well pigmented and I liked the dark shades because they're different (purple micro glitter!) and a lovely navy. The mattes here were lovely too.

I kind of wish I had swatched the other two palettes as I was pretty impressed with these. Not so much the price of $71 CND but the packages themselves were lovely and sleek looking.  Here are some of the full palette shots.

The Vamp

Top: The Tease, Bottom: The Lolita

Top: The Starlet, Bottom: The Vamp (too bright sorry)

Anyone bought one of these? Heard good things about the Starlet palette but I've not seen swatches. Supposably the smaller mini palettes aren't as good. Can't understand why they would vary so much in quality. Anyone tried these?