Category Archives: Makeup Reviews

elf Cosmetics Studio High Definition Powder Review & Pictures

elf Cosmetics Studio High Definition Powder Swatches & Review Sometime last year, elf Cosmetics was having a huge 70% off sitewide sale, and I found it hard to resist ordering a bunch of things.

I was looking for a setting powder that would curb those mid-day oilies. (Sure, I keep blotting paper on hand, but it’s nice to put your makeup on and have it stay matte for longer on its own.)

Since I heard a lot of great things about the elf Cosmetics Studio High Definition Powder, I gave it a go. How did it fare for me? Let me tell you!

(Believe it or not, this is my very first elf Cosmetics review on Swatch And Learn! I was really excited to try out a new-to-me brand. All the previous posts on this brand were done by my former blogging partner, Fiona.) Continue reading →

The Best of 2011: Nail Polish, Nail Art, Makeup, Skincare & Fragrance

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Swatch And Learn The Best of 2011 It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it?

I’ve tried all sorts of new beauty products including nail polishes. And I’ve had tons of fun coming up with nail-art designs!

Now that it’s the last day in 2011, it’s time to reflect upon the year.

I’d like to share with you my Best of 2011 list! I still have a ton of favourites from last year, so these picks are strictly new ones that I’ve blogged about in 2011.

You’ll see it broken down into the following categories: nail polish (duh), nail art (double duh), fragrance, makeup, and skincare. All lists are in no particular order. (It was difficult enough to whittle down my picks for the nail polishes!)

Feel free to click on the links – they’ll take you to the blog post with the swatches, reviews, and tutorial (where appropriate).

Now I’m so curious about what you think!

Is there a lacquer that you feel I sorely missed including? Have you found your Holy Grail facial cleanser? What nail-art design have you worn in 2011 that you would consider wearing again in 2012?

Please weigh in with your picks! We’re all different, but our love for beauty products brings us together. 🙂 Continue reading →

NYX Eyeshadow Trio Team Spirit Swatches & Review

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Not long ago, I did an Eye of the Day look (“Clown Eyes“). I used all the colours in this NYX Eyeshadow Trio Team Spirit palette as well as a couple of other hues.

I was pleased with the end result, especially since it was a personal challenge to venture outside my comfort zone of dark, smokey-eye looks.

While I’m not going to be shifting gears to super-colourful looks regularly just yet, it has revived my desire to play around with shadows and to experiment with combinations that I previously thought would be hard to sport in a single look.

Let me tell you some specifics of each colour and how they fared as I wore them throughout the day and into the night. Continue reading →

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Greed Review & Swatches

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Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Greed Review & Swatches Eye-shadow primer changed my makeup life!

In the morning, my eyelids tend to be normal to dry, but as the day progresses, they get oilier, so shadows tend to crease very easily by 3 in the afternoon.

When I discovered primers, I was disappointed that most of them contain bismuth oxychloride. You see, I’m allergic to it. If I wear stuff with that ingredient on my eyelids, they turn scaly, red, and itchy. Plus they swell. Yeah, it makes me look like a million bucks! 😛

So you can imagine how excited I was when I discovered the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Greed!

Not only does it not contain that allergen, but it has a pretty shimmery gold colour and makes sure my eye shadow doesn’t crease!

Layering this over shimmery shadows really makes them look more brilliant, and it looks pretty as a brow highlight.

Have you tried this and/or other primers from Urban Decay? Or do you like a primer from another brand better? Continue reading →

What’s in My Travel Makeup Bag

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I’ve been seeing a lot of cool What’s in My Travel Makeup Bag YouTube videos and blog posts this summer. Thought I’d join in and show you what products I take. Plus this is very timely since I’m actually going on a short romantic ‘trip’ soon. I’m staying within the city, but he and I always have a great time.

Whats in My Travel Makeup Bag But before I go into the details about what I’m taking with me, I’d like to blab a little bit about myself first. If this bores you, you can scroll down this post to get right to the makeup. 🙂 Continue reading →

Benefit Feelin’ Cheeky: Posietint, High Beam & Benetint Review & Swatches

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Image of Benefit Feelin’ Cheeky Hi all! Some news: This is going to be my last blog post. But don’t worry: Swatch And Learn will still be around – Mary’s still going to be doing her in-depth reviews, vivid swatches and silly nail art!

So for my last post on Swatch And Learn, I bring you Benefit Feelin’ Cheeky: Posietint, High Beam & Benetint. I’ve been wanting to review this for the longest time, but the tints are sooooo hard to photograph. The pictures still didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped, but I need to rave about the tints before I go. 😛 Continue reading →

Milani 3D Glitzy Stylish Glamour Gloss Review & Swatches

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Image of Milani 3D Glitzy Stylish Glamour Gloss ** This post was written by Fiona. She no longer blogs for Swatch And Learn. However, Mary still continues to blog and will be happy to reply to your comment. **

Holy orange lip gloss, Batman! Milani 3D Glitzy Stylish Glamour Gloss (try saying that 3 times fast) is an orangey shade with a tinge of pink when you look at it in the tube. It’s not a shade that I’d normally gravitate toward since I’m only recently starting to venture outside of my color comfort zone.

I’m glad I did because this pop of orange is hmm hmm good. And I don’t mean the taste. At first, I was scared that this gloss would make me look like I drank that orange soda from McDonald’s straight from the cup. (It’s natural to not want orange lips, I think!) But Stylish is just sheer enough to complement my skin tone while really adding a tinge of orange.

BTW, did McDonald’s stop selling their orange pop? Continue reading →