La Femme! Haul + Swatches
Friday, April 16, 2010
Seriously, I need to stop ordering stuff. I have more than I need for several lifetimes.
I apologize in advance for the ridiculously long post- but I know some people crave details and I'm nothing if not thorough. If it bugs you, just look at the pretty pictures.
Anyways, I ordered from MakeupMania.com sometime last week (Wednesday, I believe) and the first half of the order (the rest was out of stock and will arrive later) got here yesterday (and I've already spent like 6 hours playing with all the items).
I've heard great things about La Femme, a pro brand used by makeup artists and if you look at the reviews for their products on MakeupAlley, they have really high ratings. The super low price tags definitely helped too! All of their stuff feels pretty old school, like old Hollywood glamor. I ordered three single eyeshadow pans: Grey, Iridescent Brown and Taupe, matte cake eyeliner in Grey, Eyeliner Sealer, two single blush pans: Pink Velvet and Soft Beige, black cake mascara and a Glow On Rouge blush in Amber Dew.
I was thrilled at the quality of the stuff. The eyeshadow cakes are HUGE (36mm, that's the size of a MAC blush) and boy are they pigmented. I bought three of them- Grey, Iridescent Brown and Taupe because I figured you can never go wrong with neutrals. All of them seem to be lighter in the pan than they are on skin.
Notes: Grey is a matte blue charcoal. For you cat fans, it's the exactly color of a Russian Blue (even if you're not, googling pictures of cute blue-grey cats will still bring joy to your day). Iridescent Brown is a dark matte brown with fine glitter that isn't over the top nor does it cause fallout. Taupe looks more beige in the pan, but on my skin it becomes a bit darker, a matte khaki color. Of the three shadows, Iri. Brown is the least blendable but I think that's due to its nature of really wanting to stay on your skin. All three of them are highly pigmented but not chalky.
UDPP was used as the primer, NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk as used as the base.
The Glow on Rouge in Peach is really beautiful. It's this perfect soft peach that when applied, melted into my skin, creating a perfect nectarine glow. It's almost the perfect peach blush. Sensing a caveat? Well, remember how I said all the products seemed old school glamorous? This one smells old. As in, old people- perfumed baby powder. And it lingers. I'm sticking it overnight in my freezer (cool trick, bet you didn't know that) which sometimes helps fragrance dissipate from powder, seeing what will happen.
Edit: Quick correction- on the swatch picture it is incorrectly labeled as "Amber Dew" when it is in fact, Peach Nectar. And no, the scent didn't fade away completely- it's still kinda there. Too bad, it was so close to perfect.
Ah, cake eyeliner! They sent my grey one out, but the matte black is OOS. In the past, I've used dark eyeshadows wet before, but never tried anything specifically formulated to be a cake liner or a special eyeliner sealer. Like the Grey eyeshadow, it's a little blue but that's fine by me. It keeps the color from looking ashy and I think it's rather unique. I love it! I can get both transparent and opaque liner, depending on how I mess with it. I also used the eyeliner sealer with another dark shadow, and am pleased with the results.
Note: Pink Velvet is bright matte pink, Soft Beige is a warm matte brown. Pink Velvet is a bit of an understated name. It should be called 'Holy Crap that's Hot, Pink'. It's very pigmented too, so I'm almost frightened of it. I really didn't expect Soft Beige to be so dark, I believe I'll use it as a contour powder. The textures are different. Soft Beige is much more finely milled than PV, smoother and silkier.
Just to give you an idea of how cheap things are- at MakeupMania, the single eyeshadow/blush pans were $2.50, the Glow on Rouge was $4.75, and so on.
As for MakeupMania, the site.... well... I have mixed feelings. They carry a lot of brands. They're cheaper than other sites. But I don't think the customer service is all that great. I never received a tracking number, and when I called them to ask about it and gave them all my info, they said they'd get back to me- email the info to me. Hasn't happened yet, and I already have the package in my hands. Still would like the other tracking number though for part two of my order.
I'm actually going to email CameraReadyCosmetics and see if I can't get a price match, like their policy promises.
Thanks for reading! Anything spark your interest?
All products shown were purchased by me, for my own use.
Posts
OOoo the pink femme blush looks gorgeous! :)
ReplyDeletethanks for following my blog! you have yourself a new follower!
and about that clinique lash building primer, i'm not so sure if its water resistant but it definitely has lengthening and prolongs the staying power of your mascara ;)
Thanks for posting about the La Femme stuff. I think I will pass, though, because you mentioned the smell. I'm very particular about fragrance, and if it's that strong, it will bug me...all day long. Pity. That taupe is so nice, and I like the Glo On Rouge. However, I don't need anymore (I keep saying that). I just bought some Estee Lauder stuff to get the GWP (bought two blush, will post when the other comes in the mail). I also used my drugstore.com money to buy some stuff at beauty.com. Yep, I definitely need to stop. : P
ReplyDelete@Jenny
ReplyDeleteAwesome, thanks for taking a look at mine! I'll have to check out the lash primer.
@Mae
Actually, the only item that has a scent is the Glow on Rouge. But I totally agree, I won't buy any more of the Rouges because of it. The lovely eyeshadows are unaffected. I'd love to see what you bought!