Fake vs. Real MAC Lipsticks

MAC is one of those brands whose products you treasure like they were your children, and get butterflies of excitement when swatching and buying new items to add to your collection, for me anyway! Recently, one of my friends bought what she thought was a MAC Viva Glam Gaga lipstick from eBay, something which I would never recommend. She was so looking forward to it arriving, however as soon as she opened the package she could see that it was not what she'd hoped she would receive. Fake makeup is all over eBay, so this post is basically going to give you NUMBER basic point to let you know if you've bought a fake MAC lipstick. To demonstrate the differences I have used a fake Viva Glam Gaga and a real Angel lipstick.

Firstly, the sticker on the bottom is completely different. As you can see, the real lipstick on the right clearly displays the name and finish, (Angel, frost) whereas the fake fails to give a name at all! The text around the edge of the sticker is correct, however it is written in a different font which is much harder to read, and is missing the recycling symbol. Schoolboy errors.

Clearly whoever manufactures these fake lipsticks has spent 2 minutes when designing the outer packaging! This is completely different to the real box. First of all the fake lipstick came in a box that was a different shape to the real lipstick. Secondly, the text isn't even close to being correct. The exact same sticker that was seen on the bottom on the tube has been stuck (squint) on the end of the box. It just screams that it's not real! 

The quality of the tube is shocking. The twist mechanism can be easily taken apart from the bottom of the tube, which is obviously something that a legit MAC lipstick would never do. The lipstick feels lighter than the real one, and the actual product inside just seems too plastic-y to be real.

Talking of the lazy packaging errors, the size of the lipstick is different too! I'm no fake lipstick manufacturer, but it seems that a quick measure of a real product wouldn't go a miss when designing the fake packaging, no? As you can clearly see in the above picture, the imposter on the left is taller than the real product on the right. Also, the fake packaging is a lot thinner and feels like it could easily snap with enough pressure.

The colour of the packaging is different. The real packaging (top) is much more black, whereas the fake is more of a dark grey. Also, the fake packaging fails to feature the 'e' symbol, which means that the quantity stated on the packaging is correct according to EU standards - pretty important!

Also, the smell is vastly different. As most of you know, MAC lipsticks have a gorgeous cakey/vanilla scent, something which has not been transferred into the production of the fake lipstick. It smells like paint. Acrylic, and very unpleasant it makes you wonder what the ingredients are of this imposter product. 

I am in no way an expert on this topic, however I thought this might be a helpful post and if it helps one person avoid wasting money on a fake product, then I'll be happy!

Have you ever bought a fake cosmetic item? Do you have any other tips on how to spot a fake product?

Evie x

Weekly Round-Up - 1

I'm totally cheating with this picture, it was taken ages ago but I really wanted to get this post done and today is very much an off day... I have orange hair because I was trying out the hairspray for Wednesday, I'm going to school dressed as Ginger Spice because it will be the last day ever! So exciting!
This week has been a real mix - I only went to school one day because it's so close to exams and I prefer to revise at home, I get so much more done because I just can't concentrate at school, I always end up talking/going for food/doing anything but revision, and find it easier (although not easy!) to revise at home.
Saturday went so quickly! Got up and did an hour of revision, then went to town to get the orange hairspray for Wednesday! Although because my hair is almost black it takes a LOT to show up, I ended up having to buy £7 worth.. It will be so worth it though, Wednesday will be such a laugh! Then I went home and did another hour or so of revision (which is very unlike me, especially on a weekend! Impressive!) before my friend came and picked me up to see The Avengers! Oh.My.God. It's so good! You need to see it! I absolutely love Chris Evans and RDJ (only in Iron Man, haha) so both of them together was like my dream film! AND I hear that there's an Iron Man 3 and Captain America 2 coming out in 2013/14 so that's exciting!
Today has been a day of revision. I have a test after school tomorrow so I was reading and making essay notes for that, and doing business management past papers too. So much fun, I love revision... Although my day has just gotten a thousand times brighter because Clueless is on now! It's like, totally one of my favourite films! Way fabulous!;)

NOTD - Tangerine Fatal

Seeing as the weather has been so rubbish recently, I thought I'd paint my nails a colour which is definitely spring/summer. Typical Brit moaning about the weather, haha! I love this colour - tangerine fatal by Bourjois. It's a gorgeous bright orange, but it's not too bright, if that makes sense? It's definitely a stand out colour, but at the same time it's quite subtle. Oh god that's the worst explanation ever! Okay.. It's a sort of a bright pastel orange, but in some lights it seems like a soft neon. Wow, I'll just stop now. The picture was taken in natural light and so gives a pretty true representation of the colour, so you can decide for yourselves what kind of orange this is!;)
As for application and drying, I can't fault this polish. The brush is sized really nicely and so is easy to apply without having to worry about it getting around the edge of your nail, and drying time is around a couple of minutes - which for someone like me, who normally has to wait around 5-10 minutes for Barry M nail paints to dry fully, is perfect! (Not that I'm dissing you Baz!) The only gripe I have with this is that it's very sheer. I applied two coats, as I normally do with any coloured polish, however the whites of some nails are still visible so I had to add another coat.  Not a huge problem, but something worth addressing!
These polishes retail for £5.99 in boots, although I was lucky enough to win this from a competition on Kim's Blog (link). However, something I noticed when researching the price was that the swatch online is completely different to the actual colour of the polish! Boots show it to be a pinky/coral, but it's definitely not, even with my shocking description skills managed to get across the fact that it is very much orange!

Have you tried any Bourjois polishes? What is your favourite nail polish brand?

Evie x

Current Skincare Routine

After a week away up north, eating rubbish and not getting my full 8 hours, my skin pretty much hated me. I set out on a mission to find a skincare routine that would get my skin back to normal sharpish! I have combination skin - it tends to get slightly oily in the centre of my face, and dry across my forehead and around the edge of my face, so I needed something that was going to work well with my skin.

The cleanser I chose was Neutrogena's visibly clear pink grapefruit daily scrub, because I'd heard only good things about it. The exfoliating beads really feel like they are doing something, but are small enough so that you know you're not being too rough on your skin. Not to mention the fact that it smells amazing! I also picked up Neutrogena's visibly clear spot stress control moisturiser. It's quite a weird (but amazing) product. I was expecting a normal moisturiser consistency, however this is more of a gel and so feels extra smooth when applied to the skin! I absolutely love this moisturiser, and the fact that I got it for 5p (there was a 2 for £5 on the visibly clear range in Boots) makes it even better! I'd definitely repurchase this once this tube is finished. Finally, the favourite of them all - Clean and Clear dual action moisturiser. I absolutely love this moisturiser, a little goes such a long way and it leaves my skin feeling so soft and, well, moisturised.

I keep the clean and clear moisturiser on my bedside table, so that as soon as I wake up I can moisturise my face. I use the cleanser each night when I shower, followed by a load of the clean and clear moisturiser. I then dry my hair while that absorbs, and then apply the Neutrogena moisturiser. I'm probably making it a lot more difficult for myself than it needs to be, but I like to have little routines set out in my head and find it really difficult to snap out of them, so it seems like this one will be with me for a while!

Have you tried any of these products? What is your favourite skincare product?

Evie x

TOPSHOP Lipstick - Ohh La La

Ohh La La is described as a 'coral blush', and I'd definitely agree with this. I love the colour of this lipstick. It's a modern colour, but feels quite classic on the lips. A single swipe of this lipstick gives a sheer wash of colour that's really pretty, or it can be built up to a more striking, punchy coral.  Topshop claims that this lipstick is a matte finish, which smooths, moisturises and nourishes your lips. I'm not quite sure how true this is - in my opinion the formula of more of a semi-matte finish, although this isn't a problem for me as I didn't buy it thinking it was matte. As for the moisturising element of this lipstick, I'm yet to see any results of this, however that's not to say that it's drying and I don't think that using a lip balm before application is essential. I'd say that length of wear with this lipstick is around 2/3 hours, however it was put to the test during that time as I was eating, talking and drinking - so not bad I'd say! For £8 I'm really happy with this lipstick. The colour is gorgeous and will carry me through spring and summer, I have a thing for coral so really wanted to try it! The finish is (semi)matte although for people who are not fans of this finish, when used alongside a clear gloss it's beautiful also. I'd really recommend this product to someone who was looking for a coral lip colour, that on first application gives a sheer colour, but can be built up to achieve a vibrant finish. Love love love.

Update & Urban Decay Loose Pigment Eyeshadow in Goddess

It's mad to think that in less than six weeks I'll be on exam leave, and then I'll only have a month of exams to do before I'm finished school forever! Scary but so exciting! I know what I'm doing now - decided uni isn't for me and although I'd love the social life, I really don't want another four years of education, so instead I'll be moving to Edinburgh (wooohooo!) to go to college and hopefully find a job! I really can't wait, it feels like everything is coming together now and like I can just concentrate on passing this year and then I can start a new chapter in my life in a new place. Of course I'll miss everyone but this is what I've wanted for a long time, and I have to trust myself that it's the right thing to do! Jeez I sound old!

Okay, onto what I'm guessing is the reason you're reading this post... This is the Urban Decay loose pigment in Goddess. I bought this on a whim one day whilst browsing cheapsmells.com(link) I was looking for a black eyeshadow with a bit of depth because although the matt black in my Sleek palette is great, I wanted something that would instantly liven up a dramatic smoky eye. I'm going to a school social in two weeks (which is basically when 6th years from 9 schools from my county get together in a hall and have a dance and a drink - orange juice obviously!) and the theme is pirates, so I wanted to create a really dark eye, but something that would photograph well and feel like I made a real effort. As soon as I saw this shade I knew it was perfect!

From the above photograph you can get an idea of the glitter in this pigment. It's amazing! The base of the pigment is a matt black shadow, but it's full of blue/purple/green glitter that shows different shades in different lights, so each photograph I took turned out differently. It's a really interesting colour, and is exactly what I was looking for when buying it - something that will jazz up a deep smoky eye. I was surprised to find out that this is in fact a mineral pigment - I actually only realised this when I was reading up on the product before writing this post, I have to admit!

Something that lets the product down is the packaging. Although on paper it seems like a perfect product - compact, pretty design with it's own brush - it is quite the opposite. Yes it looks nice, but on opening the pot you are met with a brush that holds far too much product to be of use, and it's a messy job to tap it off if you really want to use the brush - trust me, I tried! To use this product I find that I have to tip out the pigment and use one of my own brushes to apply it. This technique produces a lot of waste, and if I had paid the RRP of £11.50 this would have annoyed me no end, but thankfully I only paid £4.25.

The pigment is really nice to apply, it blends beautifully and although this is my first Urban Decay pigment, from what I have heard/read this is common with similar products so I can imagine myself purchasing other products from their eyeshadow range, perhaps not another pigment unless it was at a discounted price!

All in all I'm glad I bought this pigment. It does everything I wanted it to in terms of application and wear, but is let down simply my the annoyance of the packaging. However, as I have said I didn't pay full price for this item so I can't really complain! 

Have you tried any of the products from this range? What did you think of them? Any recommendations for better packaged pigments?;)

Evie x 

MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder

First off, can I just say how much I love this packaging?! The lid is black with green and purple glitter in it, so pretty! Okay, on to the actual product... This is MAC's translucent (or transparent) finishing powder. I'd heard a lot about this product on YouTube and Blogger, so thought I'd give it a go. The artist who helped me in the MAC store said it was one of their best selling powders and that she, as well as other girls in the store, couldn't live without it.

I was advised to use this powder with a kabuki brush, and to start at the top of my face so that any product that dropped could be swept away as I moved further down the face. I was really excited to try it out, so got up pretty early the next day - you know when you're really excited to do your makeup and get up at stupid o'clock? I have to say I was quite disappointed. Described by MAC as 'A silky finishing powder that provides an invisible way to set makeup. Reduces shine while optically minimizing the look of pores, likes and imperfections', I felt it didn't achieve any of these claims. As for keeping shine at bay, this product didn't do much. I don't have particularly oily skin, but this powder did nothing to 'reduce shine' on my face. I also felt that my pores looked the same as they did before I applied the powder, which is really disappointing for a product which costs £18.50.

As for setting my makeup, I can't honestly say that this product is anything fantastic. I use Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation after hearing so much about it, and I really like it, but find that is has the same staying powder with or without the use of MAC's finishing powder. I will be continuing to use this product on thr rare occasion for the simple reason that I want to use it up! I feel like it was such a waste of money and I'm really disappointed with it.

I hate writing such negative reviews but I don't want to lie about a product that I feel didn't live up to expectations! Have you tried this powder? What did you think?

Evie x