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Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Stain Review + Swatches

Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Stains

 

Hello gorgeous! I am back from a two-week hiatus. Been so busy lately that I lost track of time. Time for me goes by so fast, like the speed of light. My days are mostly spent writing, thinking, and trying to solve puzzles (insert Coldplay โ€” The Scientist, lol). Oh, I miss them Pre-Covid days. Those glam days of endless eyeliners on fleek and sharply contoured cheeks! I still wear lipsticks nowadays, but I stay away from glosses. I wear mattes or lip stains most of the time, and Iโ€™ve been testing these very intriguing lip stain from Anastasia Beverly Hills.

 

Anastasia Lip Stain review

 

These lips stains are so interesting because they are what I would call as great dupes for the Dior Lip Tattoo (swatched HERE). I love that Dior lip product so much, even though some folks had mixed feelings about it. These Anastasia Lip Stains, on the other hand, are almost similar to the Dior Lip Tattoo in a lot of aspects. The consistency and the brush applicator, for example, are reminiscent of the Dior Lip Tattoo. Both have fluid consistencies and both have angled brush applicators. In fact, both even have the same matte packaging, except for the Dior one looking a little bit fancier.

 

However, there are some subtle differences that I noticed between the two. The Anastasia Lip Stains give a slightly sticky feel a few minutes after application. They also seem to be somewhat streaky, and the shades tend to pile up instead of blending seamlessly on the lips. Also, each shade of the tube does not really match the shade of the product inside or when applied. The true shades tend to pull twice or even three times darker than the shade of the tubes. So, I have to be very light-handed with my application. These lip stains are SOOO staining that I had a hard time getting rid of them from my lips. A one light swipe on the lips will pretty much be enough

 

Anastasia Beverly Hills lip stain swatch

 

Dusty Rose โ€“ more of a plum rosewood

 

Rosewood โ€“ more like a medium copper rose

 

Black Cherry โ€“ wine-red stain

 

anastasia lip stain lip swatches black cherry, rosewood, dusty rose

These lip stains are lightweight, but you will feel that slight stickiness. They wonโ€™t dry your lips, but they somewhat emphasize the lip lines. The colors may be so vivid and so pigmented, but you will have a hard time removing them. They will not transfer on your mask, but if you make a mistake of applying more than two coats of these, donโ€™t plan to get out of the house (lol), or else you will scare the neighborhood pets away :D. Kk?

 

Anastasia Lip Stain

 

 

Stay tuned for more beauty posts.

 

Big โ€œHiโ€ to littleguccipiggy and Happy Birthday to moi!

 

 

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Benefit Cosmetics Brow Contour Pro Review And Swatches

benefit brow contour pro brown-black light

 

Benefit recently released their Brow Contour Pro ($34) products and I couldn’t resist getting my hands on them. The Brow Contour Pros are brow colors that are pretty much contained in a multicolor pen type. Each fat pen houses four shades: A lighter shade for the inner part of the brow. A deeper shade for the outer half part of the brow. There’s also a definer shade to define the brow’s edge, and the last is a highlighter shade to clean and shape the brow’s arch.

benefit brow contour pro review

Personally, I’ve been waiting for a product like these. I usually use two brow shades in order to do my eyebrows since I like to create depth and dimension on them. I learned the technique from makeup artists who advised me to do my brows in that manner so they won’t look so flat. Normally, I tend to pick brow colors that are a shade lighter than my brunette hair, then I’d pick another color lighter than that brow color to use on the inner half of my brows so as to soften my look. Lately, I’ve been using the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz (Soft Brown and Medium Brown) or the Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil in shades 3 and 4. I love them a lot, however, I thought it would be kinda easy if I don’t have to lug around two brow products in my makeup bag all the time. I could go with one, but I really love the look of having a contoured ombre-like brow, since it just looks more natural and less harsh to me. So with these Benefit Brow Contour Pros, I feel like my prayers were answered.

 

There are five available shades of these new Benefit Brow products. Three of them are swatched below. The shades/pens I picked are based on what would look good on my hair color and skintone.

benefit brow contour pro swatches

Brown Light – was worried this would be too light for me, but I actually could pull this off, and this softens my look.

 

Brown Medium – this complements well with my black hair color and this also makes my brows look less harsh. The definer and the highlighter shades look pretty identical though.

 

Brown-Black Light –ย thought this is very much the same color as my hair and this makes my brows look a little too harsh, given my light-medium skintone. This would be great if your complexion is very warm to deep. Also, the deeper and lighter shades are quite similar to each other.

 

benefit brow contour pro swatch

 

These Brow Contour Pros are meant to be waterproof and long-wearing, so there’s definitely no worries about them fading so soon. The pigment of these is really good. They apply easily like a cream and set well on my brows after a few minutes. They even stay put after I workout or after I sweat. They can pretty much withstand heat and humidity especially in this Summer and I love that they’re easy to correct or blend. You just use your own pinky finger to sorta correct any smudges or blend the shades perfectly to achieve a natural look.

brow contour bro benefit

As much as I love these brow products, I’m sure you noticed that there’s one thing missing – The Spoolie! There’s no spoolie attached to this multicolor brow pens, it’s actually sold separately (available HERE). So that’s kinda inconvenient, especially since I’m used to having spoolies at the other end of my brow products, which really makes things easier for me. Another thing I wanna point out is that since the pen is thick, it tends to rub against my brow bone which makes the application a little less precise. Other than that, I really love the diversity of shades in these Benefit Brow Contour Pros. They are convenient since you get all the shades you need to create the perfect multidimensional brow, but you’re really going to need that Spoolie with you all the time.

 

benefit cosmetics brow contour pro review

 

Have you tried these already? What are your thoughts?

 

The Benefit Brow Contours Pros are currently available at Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom, JCPenney

 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches

anastasia norvina eyeshadow palette

 

One of the most exciting beauty launches this Summer is the Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Eyeshadow Palette ($42). It’s composed of 14 shades; seven unique and gorgeous shimmers plus seven summer-ready wearable bright mattes. The lavender-colored packaging of this eyeshadow palette looks so unique and so beautiful at first glance, and the shades are as magical and whimsical as Norvina Soare’s lavender-purple hair.

 

anastasia beverly hills norvina

 

Each of the shade feels buttery soft and smooth, and they’re all easy to apply and blend. The shimmers apply seamlessly and I noticed no fallouts. I find the colors to be buildable and they stay put for a long time, with or without any eye primer. The matte shades, on the other hand, are easy to wear and they fit well with most skin tones. Also, they complement the shimmery colors nicely.

 

norvina eyeshadow palette review

 

I’ve been watching this particular eyeshadow palette for several weeks now and I was glad to get my hands on this a few weeks ago from Ulta. They’re the first ones who carried this palette and had a few stocks left by the time I got to one of their stores. I could tell lots of women were so excited about this. I did have my reservations before buying this palette though since I usually get wary whenever I see purple, pink, or red-toned eyeshadows. These shades usually make me look bruised or like having a hematoma. LOL. However, the Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Palette is too beautiful to pass. I needed it in my life (LOL again). The shimmers may look too bright and out of this world at first, but fear not because wearing them will definitely lift up your mood. They’re so stunning and they’ll add an extra pop of color on the lids that are perfect for this bright and glowy season. On top of that, they don’t make me look bruised. The colors will just make you happy.

 

anastasia beverly hills norvina

 

 

anastasia norvina eyeshadow palette swatch

 

I’ll definitely buy this palette again once I hit the pan, yet I wouldn’t hesitate to hoard it just for its beautiful packaging. Lavender is one of my favorite colors, it’s just so mythical. So yeah, this palette is the closest unicorn eyeshadow color I could get. Apart from the pretty packaging, the shades are even prettier and they have such good color payoff. My favorite colors from this palette are Celestial, Wild Child, Rose Gold, Love, Soul, and Summer. As you can see, there’s a lot to like.

norvina eyeshadow palette swatches

 

Mascara: Hourglass Caution Extreme Mascara

Brow: Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Soft Brown

Eyeliner: Chanel Yeux Waterproof in Noir Intense (reviewed HERE)

norvina eyeshadow palette swatch

Brow: Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil #3

Eyeliner: Marc Jacobs Highliner in (Earth)quake #41ย (reviewed HERE)

Mascara: Hourglass Caution Extreme Mascara

 

For me, this Norvina Palette is definitely my most favorite Anastasia Eyeshadow Palette ever, right above Modern Renaissance. I just love the fact that I could create several interesting unique eye makeup looks with this and they look good for any skin tone. I could see myself rocking the colors of this eyeshadow palette for a long time, and I definitely recommend this as a must-have for everyone.

 

anastasia beverly hills norvina eyeshadow palette

 

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Eyeshadow Palette is currently available at Macy’s, Dillard’s, Nordstrom, as well as in-store and online at Ulta, and also online for now at Sephora, but will be available at their stores starting August 16.