Buzzworthy: Daphne Guinness for MAC & Tour De Fabulous

Kicking off my Christmas haul are the MAC holiday pieces I picked up. Daphne Guinness for MAC and Tour De Fabulous hit MAC counters on December 26. Fashion icon and socialite Daphne Guinness put her hand in the makeup world by collaborating with MAC for their winter collection. The hues are mostly deep berries and plums perfect for the cold weather season. Most of the items were limited edition with a few repromotes thrown into the mix. You might recognize the two blush ombres from the Spring Colour Forecast in the spring of 2010. While both Azalea Blossom and Vintage Grape caught my eye, I had to get my hands on Vintage Grape because I own nothing like it! Vintage Grape (retailing at $26) is a deep violet blush swirled with pink. When you mix the colors together, you get a lovely and vibrant wine color. This is a very pigmented blush so fair toned girls will want to use a stippling brush and build the color to their liking. Bottom Line? If  you didn't get it the first time, now's your chance to own this gorgeous blush!

I've always been drawn to a bright pink pout so I grabbed Style Packed lipglass ($14.50) and Embrace Me  lipliner ($14) from Tour De Fabulous. If any of you honey bees own Nars Schiap or Funny Face, MAC's Girl About Town or Spitfire, Milani's Rose Hip, or any fuschia lipstick Embrace Me is essential for you. This is exactly the lipliner that MAC has been needing in its arsenal. They'd be foolish to not make this a permanent. Style Packed is a very blue based pink lipglass that Barbie would approve of. This would look great layered ontop of your favorite lipsticks, or worn alone for a sheer but bright pop of pink. Pictured below is my FOTD using Vintage Grape ombre blush and Style Packed worn on top of Embrace me lipliner. What did you pick up from MAC's winter collections? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Swatches: Dark, Light and Mixed Vintage Grape, Embrace Me, Style Packed

Blush Buzz: Illamasqua Thrust

As an Illamasqua virgin here, I was excited to try out a recent addition to my blush collection. Illamasqua's Thrust is a bright violet berry in the pan, but shows up a subtle cool and warm pink on the cheeks. It is extremely pigmented and would be best applied with a duo-fibre skunk brush, just to give off a nice rosy glow. I actually love that I dont own a single blush that looks like Thrust. Retailing at around $23 at your local Sephora, Thrust is just a touch more expensive than a MAC blush ($18) and around the same price as a NARS blush ($26). The vibrant color can be a little intimidating in the pan, but once applied (sparingly) to cheeks, Thrust is definitely creates a soft and easy matte finish. The blush leans cool but can suit warm tones nicely as well, since the magenta does carry a bit of red undertones. This blush is particularly flattering on WOC (women of color) but would look beautiful on fair and medium tones as well. Thrust is just the right amount of flirty and bold. I'm pretty excited to try more out from Illamasqua since the quality and wear time of this blush is outstanding. Illamasqua offers a pretty gorgeous range of colors to choose from as well. Bottom line? A fun and flirty quality blush! Pictured below is my FOTD using Illamasqua's Thrust. Please keep in mind that I am applying a little bit more blush than I usually wear, so you guys can get a good look at the true color and pigmentation of Thrust.  Have you tried Illamasqua's Thrust? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Blush Buzz: Too Faced Papa Don't Peach

Blush is such an easy way to really freshen up your face. I haven't been too familiar with Too Faced blushes but the raves for Papa Don't Peach had me sold. The blush is a very pigmented peach with just a soft hint of pink undertones. While some peach blushes seem to pull orange on more fair tones, Papa Don't Peach works with a lot of different skin tones from very fair to women of color. This is a gorgeous summertime blush- perfect for matching those sunkissed summer tans! I happen to love the color pay off and the subtle shimmer of pink it shows off in the right light. At $20 a pop, the blush's price falls between MAC's $18 blushes and higher end makeup brands like Nars ($26). You get a pretty good bang for your buck, as this is a pigmented blush and you don't need to reapply or pick up too  much product for it to really show up. The sassy little Too Faced blush box is always an addition plus, as it's not too bulky or heavy. Bottom line? Universally flattering peach- I've made up my mind, I'm gonna keep this baby! (Can't stop singing the Madonna song that goes right along with this blush!) Pictured below is the swatch of Papa Don't Peach along with my BOTD (flash and no flash). 

Blush Buzz: Rock and Republic Tease

What a great way to start off the weekend! The two Rock and Republic blushes I ordered from Beauty Story came in this morning and I got to break in my highly anticipated Tease blush. Tease is a soft matte lilac in the pan but goes on my warm skin as a pinky mauve. This blush is so different from anything else i own and even though I am warm toned the blush still works on my tan skin . I am especially excited to try Tease on cooler tones, as I think the lilac would come through a little more. It gives leaves such a soft and pretty color on the cheek with such little product on the brush. I cannot get enough of these Rock and Republic blushes! They are absolutely worth all the hype!

Blush Buzz: Rock and Republic, Bedroom

Before I get into the next Rock and Republic blush, Bedroom, i thought I would share what I have been waiting for in the mail!

I ordered these two Nars blushes on Beauty.com and finally received them in the mail yesterday. The dark one on the left is Taj Mahal and the peachy one on the right is Gina. I can't wait to try them out!

I was excited to wear Rock and Republic's Bedroom blush today, as I was going for a more neutral look. The blush is a matte salmon pink in the pan and shows beautifully on the skin. I chose to forgo my skunk brush (MAC 188) for application and used my MAC 116 instead. It leans a little closer to orange than pink on my warm Asian skin. I love the color payoff on this blush, and would recommend it for those looking for a more subtle color.

(forgive the goofy face, but my cheekbones show off the blush better like this)

Blush Buzz: Rock & Republic, X-Rated

Recently, there have been a lot of Rock & Republic sales so I thought I would do a feature of some on their more popular blushes. First up: X-Rated (don't you just love the name?). This is a matte raspberry color and looks quite intimidating in the pan. While this brand of cosmetics is very pigmented remember that you can always control the amount of color with a light or heavy hand. I like to start very light, using my MAC 188 brush, and layer on the color and building if I have to. The only problem with this blush is that it is only sold online and can be very expensive (a whopping $40) if purchased at retail price. My advice is to catch them when they are on sale on discount sites like Hautelook and Beauty Story.

This is a really beautiful color, especially for darker toned girls like me! It creates a lovely flush on the face and can yield very dramatic results if that is what you're aiming for.