Simply Gorgeous

Opulent Mascara! MAC wins with Opulash!

2010-05-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of maccosmetics.ca

I've just been able to get my grubby paws on MAC's newest mascara, and it was love at first swipe. I've been in a mascara rut lately, and hadn't really been able to find that perfect, non-waterproof mascara for everyday use. As much as I love my Diorshow Blackout Waterproof mascara, I'd rather not have to battle it with industrial grade solvent to get it off at the end of the day. And my small foray into Make Up Forever's Aqua Smoky Lash resulted in a gunky, smeary mess. Yuck.

I had high hopes for this new mascara, as I've been a fan of MAC and a few of their mascaras in the past. I wasn't disappointed.

According to the MAC website : The biggest, baddest, bouffant lashes EVER are making noise with their sexy sweep. Opulash creates aesthetic extremes when it gets going, for a dramatic end look. Superlative separation, sublime innovation: Everything a M·A·C Artist lives for!

Now, onto the pictures.

Behold the horror of my naked lashes. They say blondes have more fun, but their lashes are in need of some serious saving.

This is the weapon we are going to use against wimpy lashes. Above is Diorshow Blackout Waterproof mascara, and below is MAC Opulash. They are both undeniably big brushes, so when I apply I have to be careful or mascara ends up everywhere. Opulash is packaged in a larger tube then many other mascaras MAC has released, and instead of the classic glossy black, Opulash comes to you in a fat gunmetal grey tube with a satiny metallic finish. It looks very reminiscent of something Hourglass Cosmetics would release, if you've ever passed their stand in Sephora.

The SA at my MAC location was kind enough to warn me that this mascara's formulation is a little different, and she was passing on the truth. The formula is a bit dryer then you may be used to, so you may at first feel like you got a bad tube which is on the verge of drying up. You didn't, this is the way this mascara is made to be. As the SA explained, Opulash is this way to allow you to get a few good coats on them lashes without having tarantula legs sticking out of your eyes. Pretty picture, I know, but it is effective.

Here's one coat on my uncurled lashes. Wow, I do have eyelashes after all! Notice that I managed to get mascara on my lower lashes by accident. Oops.

I'd definitely recommend this. It has good buildable properties which make it ideal for adding volume and length as desired.

Upcoming Reviews

2010-05-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, sorry for the extended hiatus, but life has been busy and complicated (then again, when isn't it?). I've got a few upcoming reviews I'm hoping to do on the weekend, including MAC's new mascara, Opulash and two eyeshadows I picked up from the To the Beach collection, Sweet & Punchy and Firecracker. I've also got some depotting to do, so I should be able to post a tutorial for how to do that too! I swear I'll try my best to get this done.

Abby says Hi!

The Body Shop Baked Mineral Eyeshadow in Jade

2010-05-20T22:39:00.000-07:00

I stuck my nose into The Body Shop yesterday evening, and I will say I was impressed with the new three new baked mineral eyeshadows they had. There are three different shades available: jade, copper and moonstone. I picked up jade, and am considering the other two, as I'm impressed with jade. Each shadow retails for $16 CAD, and offers up a considerable amount of product.

You can see there is a fair amount of product for the money.

Here you can see three swatches.
Top: both light and dark together
Middle: Light part only
Bottom: Dark part only

You can see that this is a highly wearable shadow, and the light and dark sides have added versatility. I'd be pretty comfortable to bet that these colours would darken up when applied wet. I've already applied this over a silver-green paint pot, and it really brightens up the green colour in the shadow.

The other two shadows, copper and moonstone, are a copper duo and a milky white and grey duo. They have nice, intense pigment with shimmer, but there's no disco balls here. It's very reasonable, very wearable and not intimidating at all. I'd definitely recommend them!

MAC To The Beach

2010-05-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

I just got back from my first ever release party, and boy was it fun! The shop was packed, and they served a lemon coconut cocktail. I had to opt for the vodka free version, since I had to drive home. They had a couple of 'pool boys' as well, wearing little orange swim trunks with this collections sea shell pattern all over it, free beachy necklaces with shells and beads, and lots of little nibbles floating around. I had a great time.

During my visit, I picked up:

Marine Life Highlight Powder
Float on by eye kohl
Rosemary and Thyme eye kohl
Thrills lipstick
Funbathing lipstick

So far, I'm very happy with my purchases. I've swatched everything besides Marine Life, as I don't have the heart to wear off the overspray yet. I'm thinking I might want to go back when the collection officially launches, and pick up Sweet and Punchy e/s, and possibly Firecracker e/s as well.

Float on by and Rosemary and Thyme are creamy pigmented eye pencils. The packaging is slightly different then a standard kohl, with a metallic end cap and end on the pencil. The pencils are largely black and white, and have a coral pattern extending from the end in the same colour as the kohl.

Float on by (above) kohl is a metallic teal with rich, jewel like colour. It is soft enough that it puts down rich colour without too much work, so you can definitely use this on your eyes without difficulty. It's a bit smudgy, but not too much, so this should be pretty wearable.

Rosemary and Thyme (below) is a metallic khaki green with a creamy smooth texture. In light this looks a bit more green, the metallic finish sets this off. I'm actually wearing it right now, and it's a really wearable colour, nothing screamingly bright, but really doable for everyday, especially if you're fair like me!

Funbathing lipstick (above) appears darker then in this picture, but don't let the colour on the stick intimidate you. This is a metallic finish lipstick that goes on as a sheerer, darkened raspberry. It offers a buildable level of colour, and sheer levels work well for me, even as a daytime colour. I'm very happy I picked this up, definitely no regrets here!

Thrills lipstick (below) also appears darker, but it's a very nice rosy gold lipstick with a frost finish. It's not incredibly pigmented, so applying this lightly lets it do a 'my lips but better' like finish, minus the frost finish. It's very summery, cheerful and I've taken to carrying it around with me now.

Here you can see Funbathing (above) and Thrills (below) swatched.

Simply Gorgeous has a new home!

2010-05-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

Simply Gorgeous has moved to blogger! I'm liking the way this looks a lot more then at wordpress. More posts will follow, including the continuation of my mini series of reviews of my fragrance collection. Stay tuned for more!