Maquillage Summer '09

I loved the 3D Maquillage palettes so when I saw they were releasing 2 new versions for the summer, I jumped on them.

Here is the Gold palette (no flash, with flash):

Swatches (no flash, flash):

Here is the silver palette (no flash, flash):

Silver palette swatches (no flash, flash):

What surprised me was that all the shadows were in a creme form. Since the previous 3D palettes had a cream base and liner color with 3 powder shadows. The next surprised was how shimmery these colors were. I think they may be a bit OTT for work although that didn't stop me from putting on the silver palette during lunch time. The darker colors are not as sparkly so that helps tone down the lighter colors. I do like the Silver palette a bit more right now, but I'll have to play with both a bit more before I play favorites. The shadows lasted decently through the day with some UDPP primer.

I wasn't too interested in the colored mascara/liner combo that was being released in this collection at first, but I recently purchased the Guerlain Blue mascara and loved the way it looked so I decided to give the Violet mascara/liner a try.

I have not used the mascara yet but the brush is pretty interesting-it has a comb side, a brush side and a few bristles at the tip.

I really like the liner color (no flash, flash):

Definitely more play time is needed but I think these items are a pretty additions for summer, although I think I do like having powder shadows in the palettes a bit more than the creme shadows (I always thought the creme base in the previous palettes felt a bit greasy). I may also give another liner/mascara combo a try since I like the violet so much.

Vanitymark Mascara ~Updated pics!

I received a Vanitymark mascara in each of the boxes/bags I had gotten from this month's My Pretty Pink Box. I'm always trying to find the perfect mascara and this product aims at achieving this label. The packaging claims that this mascara is the blackest mascara on earth, quickly dries between coats and is weatherproof. It also says that it has flexi-lastin added to its formula so that you can freely curl your lashes after putting on the product.

Loved the simple packaging and rubberized feel of the tube.

Here are my before pics, no curling or any primer applied:

And here are the after pics, only having curled and applied Vanitymark:

I do think that I have a few more coats of Vanitymark on for the pics below than in the pics above:

After, re-curling with Vanitymark on :

Vanitymark did deliver on many of it's claims. It did darken my lashes, although I don't know if I would say it's the"blackest" on earth. I tend to add multiple coats of mascara on my lashes and there were no problems with clumps. It did leave a nice shine to my lashes and I do love that it was flake and smudge free after wearing it all day. I recently discovered that there were mascaras that irritated my eyes after a few hours, but I was able to wear Vanitymark all day without any problems. I don't normally try to re-curl my lashes after first applying them, but when I tried, my lashes did hold the re-curling quite well.

My only drawback to this mascara is in regards to lengthening and volume, I was not completely wowed by this product. The darkening and shine did help to define my lashes better but I would not say it made them look amazingly more voluminous or longer.

Overall, I am very pleased by Vanitymark mascara and I think it's a great everyday option. It gave very good definition, nice shine and comfortable smudge/flake-free wear all day. The option to re-curl to freshen up my lashes after a few hours is also a nice feature. I'm defintely glad that it was in this month's My Pretty Pink Box!