Annabelle Cosmetics is one of my favorite drugstore brands and they recently introduced their mineral makeup line which is just in time for summer! Mineral is definitely the way to go in the sweltering heat because it’s usually light and offers buildable coverage.

Annabelle Cosmetics

Mineral Powder Foundation – Feels light on the skin, offers light to medium coverage, depending on how much you use and has a natural and dewy finish. Only 4 shades and I was sent Barely Beige which is obviously too light for me during the summer but I tested it a couple of weeks ago when I was paler and I liked the outcome. I will definitely use this once I find the right shade.

Mineral Powder Blush – Extremely pigmented so you don’t need much product for a pink glow. I’m more of a bronzer girl so I don’t have much to say about this, but I do love the color I got (Sugar Rush).

Mineral Powder Bronzer - I LOVE this bronzing powder! It only comes in one shade, Terra, but it gives you a healthy tanned glow and you can gradually build up the intensity. It’s very pigmented so only start with a little bit. It also doesn’t doesn’t give you nasty BRIGHT ORANGE spots on your cheeks like I see on a lot of girls at the clubs… the color is more brownish which looks more like a natural tan. Also great for contouring and creating shadows because it has a matte texture. Although I loved this bronzer, it won’t be one I use daily because it’s not convenient to carry around in my purse since it’s powder. Boo.

Mineral Pigment Dust – Light but beautiful and pigmented colors, very shimmery, easily buildable for intensity and lasts all day. Comes in a cute little container that doesn’t create as much mess than ones most pigment powders come in but the hole needs to be bigger so my brushes can fit into it.

A-12 Blush Brush – Round blush brush that is made of premium goat hair. Not the softest brush I’ve ever used but it does blend nicely.

Volumelip Lip Plumping Gloss - Received Sweet Tweet and Cherryoké. Loved Sweet Tweet which was a light pink color but I couldn’t wear Cherryoké because it was too red for me. I totally envy girls who can pull off bright red lips! Formula is light, isn’t sticky at all (huge plus) and hydrates your lips but not as much as Marcelle’s Vita-Lip Plumping Gloss which they sent me a while back (and was nice enough to replace one when I lost my favorite shade!). My lip was already plump from Vita-Lip so I’ll have to test out Volumelip’s plumping action some other time. Comes in 5 gorgeous shades and I can’t wait to get Metro Mango!

Sorry guys, I know I need to clean my mirror.

Sorry guys, I know I need to clean my mirror.

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Friday, March 26, 2010

Marcelle

Fashion, Hair & Make-Up, Reviews

Marcelle

Marcelle Minerals Powder Make-Up – Good minimal coverage which is perfect, as summer is coming up and you don’t want products piled on your face. Although I’m not a huge fan of the built-in brush because it’s too rough, I find it really convenient so that I don’t have to carry so many makeup and tools around with me everywhere. Too bad the shade I got is going to be too light for my skin soon since I started tanning again.

Marcelle Minerals Powder Blush – The brush doesn’t blend the blush well with your skin and the shade I asked for (Pink Glow) is a little too dark for my skin but hopefully it’ll blend better once I’m not so white-and-pasty anymore.

Marcelle Vita-Lip Plumping Gloss – I reviewed this product back in November but never really tested it’s plumping effects. You have to use this continuously to see any plumping effects and let me tell you, IT WORKS! I love love LOVE this lip gloss and on top of that, it’s not sticky and leaves stuff on your lips. Just don’t accidently get any on the skin around your lips or else it’ll be red for a couple of days.

Marcelle Minerals Eye Shadow – This comes in a little tube with a convenient brush and is pretty pigmented. I got it in “Graphite” which is great for the smokey-look but I needed to use a base (UDPP) to make it last and really make the color pop [to my satisfaction].

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Blackberry Onyx 9700 Here’s my 9700 review after using it for about a month. Note, this Blackberry is also known as the “Bold 2.” I upgraded to this from the Javelin.

Pros:

  • Faster! The web browsing is faster but nothing to “wow” about compared to my old Javelin on a 2G network. Apps like Ubertwitter and receiving files on BBM are a lot faster though.
  • Trackpad!! I was playing around with Boyfriend’s Blackberry the other day and the trackball felt so weird… can’t imagine ever using it again.
  • My fat fingers are no longer an issue! Better keyboard than the Javelin (but I still like the 8320 Curve’s better).
  • Text messages are linked … BBM style!
  • SPEAKERS ARE AMAZING! Well compared to older Blackberry models and even my 3rd generation iPod touch.
  • Battery life is a HUGE improvement.
  • It’s compatible with the Javelin’s micro-USB ports so I don’t have to replace any accessories since I have a gazillion chargers lying around everywhere (home, work, Boyfriend’s, car, etc.). My biggest fear is a dying Blackberry.
  • Awesome resolution and bright screen.
  • It’s the perfect size, which is the same as the Javelin but smaller than the chunky [original] Bold.

Cons:

  • Leather backing looks tacky.
  • Can’t seem to set my right convenience key to show ALL “messages” like I usually do with older Blackberry models. Right now, I can only set it to SMS/MMS OR Messages (BBM/email/etc) and not both. Am I missing something?
  • I love how text messages are linked in a chat like BBM but I always forget that I’m texting someone and send them a billion in a row which they probably want to punch me in the face for.
  • My calendar alerts can’t seem to be silenced even though it’s set in my profiles.

Rating: 9/10
I only wish there was a bigger screen. I have to admit the numbers are biased because I’ll always give Blackberries a high score. :D

I know iPhones can do a lot but here 10 Things iPhones Can’t Do, But Blackberries CAN!

Also read: Blackberry Javelin 8900 Review, Blackberry Curve 8320 Review.

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Just thought I’d do a quick review of the Blackberry Javelin 8900 since I just switched the the 9700. I’ve been using this phone for about 7 months, upgrading from the 8320 which was a huge difference.

MY BB <3

Yes, there was a boyband on my home screen.

Pros:

  • Nice and upgraded interface.
  • Small, compact and light; it’s the perfect size.
  • Has Wifi and GPS.
  • Vivid display and sharp sound.

Cons:

  • Not as fast since it’s on a 2G network.
  • Keyboard isn’t as good as the one on the 8320 (which is still the best Blackberry keyboard to date).
  • Camera still isn’t anything to rave about but it’s a HUGE improvement from the 8320. I don’t use it for anything other than Twitpics anyway so it doesn’t matter much to me.

Rating: 8/10

I think the 8900 was a great phone although it would’ve been a lot better if it had 3G.

Anyway, I finally switched the the 9700 after it’s been sitting in it’s box in Boyfriend’s closet for the past two weeks and I love it! I’ll do a review after I’ve used it for a couple weeks. I also switched over to Rogers after being on Fido for over 10 years just to save about $15/month on my plan. My new plan is exactly $53/month after taxes with: 500GB of data, 100 daytime minutes, unlimited local and network calling and evenings/weekends, caller display/voicemail/etc. It’s almost the exact same plan I had on Fido excluding unlimited text messaging which I was paying $65-$72/month for but after all my friends got Blackberries, no one text messages anymore. :P Edit– nevermind I just realized I do get unlimited texting.

Now the question is how I’m going to pimp out my new Bold?! I was about to order another full-white casing for it because I refuse to have the black one just like everyone else but I had second thoughts because I had a white Blackberry for the past 8 months. Should I go for another color? Hrm.

Which Blackberry model are you using and how much are you paying monthly?

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Marcelle is the cosmetics and skin care brand that offers every woman high quality, effective and affordable products. Hypoallergenic and perfume-free; women of all ages believe in Marcelle products.

I was sent some Marcelle make-up products which I was uber excited about because I’ve always loved their skincare line. It’s great to support a Canadian company too because well you know… all our companies end up getting sold to an American one.

Marcelle

This fall Marcelle® Cosmetics innovates again and offers a wider variety of eye products. This new line will satisfy the need of every woman, whether she is looking for a glamorous, urban or more classic look. The Fall 2009 campaign presents 3 models with 3 different looks: Classic Elegant, Ultra-Glam and Urban Chic.

Eyes

Wet & Dry Eyeshadow Quad: Versatile eye shadows to suit your every mood.
This quad comes in some beautiful shades and I received one in Blue Moon. It’s not as pigmented as I’d like it to be; without a good base, it would be hard to get a good color pay-off when applied dry, HOWEVER it did give off an intense color when applied wet. You do need to build it up quite a bit though.

Concealer Palette: The simple art of camouflage.
I love this concealer palette! It blended easily with my skin tone by mixing the 4 different shades. My only complain is the useless brush which was too small to do anything with.

Lips

Vita-Lip Plumping Gloss in Nude (with flash)

Vita-Lip Plumping Gloss: The ideal plumping treat for your lips!
I love this gloss because it was shiny, non-sticky and enriched with vitamin E but the staying-power was a little disappointing. As for the plumping part? This is suppose to increase your lip’s volume by 11% and suprisingly it doesn’t have that tingly sensation that comes with most plumping glosses. I’m eating a super-spicy gumbo dish right now so my lips feel hella “plump” already so I’d have to get back to you on that. :P Edit – Plumps? YES! I can’t compare it to other glosses though because I never had to use them.

Liquid Eyeliner Pen: A glamorous look in high-definition.
Goes on smooth and extremely easy to apply. I use to use liquid liners religiously in high school but switched to Mac’s Fluidline gel-liner and never went back again. Although, after using Marcelle’s Liquid Eyeliner Pen, I might just go back and use it occasionally. It’s much more convenient carrying this in my make-up bag than a pot of Fluidline and a eyeliner brush. I was wearing this during an intense cardio session and although it did smudge (Fluidline never smudges on me, even 2 hours in a hot tub!), it did okay for a non-waterproof liquid eyeliner. Yes, I sweat buckets. :|

Khol Eyeliner: Make a statement or keep it subtle, this eyeliner pencil makes your every wish come true.
This pencil liner wasn’t pigmented enough and was actually a little hard to apply (had to tug on my lids a little bit). They also sent me the non-waterproof version so there is no way I can use it on a day-to-day basis.

Volume Precision Mascara: High definition volume
Didn’t work on my non-existent Asian eyelashes, but it has pretty good reviews on Make-Up Alley so it maybe worth trying out if you have naturally “nice” eyelashes (like that of Caucasians, Indians, etc). No offense my fellow Chinese people but our eyelashes usually sucks a$s.

Anyway, if you’d like to win a brand new set of all these Marcelle products for FREE just leave a comment and I’ll draw the winner next week. The only catch it that you have to be a Canadian-resident. Good luck! :D

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