OCC Loose Colour Concentrates - 11 swatches

Well I actually took the time today to go through my OCC pigments collection and decided to get some swatches for you. I'm totally in love with OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics), they are probably one of the best makeup lines around in my opinion. You get amazing results using very little of their product, which means it lasts way longer. These loose pigments sell for $11.50 each and come in 2.5g clear round jars. Unlike most loose pigments these do have the sifter holes so it's a lot easier to apply. I would still recommend using a loose white powder under the eyes to catch the falling shadow or use a tissue. You can apply these wet or dry, if you apply them wet you get a way more vibrant color pay off. Their pigments are very pigmented and bright so it's great for photography or for every day use to get noticed.

Below are 11 colors, from left to right: frigid, cherry bomb, glisten, rime, static, pollencount, atmosphere, chlorophyll, cavu blue, heroic, and wasabi. (Cherry bomb and pollencount aren't recommended for the eye area.) For more info go to: occmakeup.com







above: Wasabi, Atmosphere, and Rime



Heroic, Cavu Blue, and Frigid



Chlorophyll, and Pollencount



and last: Cherry Bomb, Glisten, and Static

Naked Cosmetics - Urban Rustic

I've been meaning to review Naked Cosmetics for a while now and have finally gotten around to doing so. Their slogan is if it's not naked, it's not natural. They claim to be the purest and most natural makeup that exists and is made of 100% oxidized mica. I will be reviewing 1 of 4 Naked Cosmetics collections that I own and will be doing the other 3 very soon. This collection is called Urban Rustic, it's mostly golds, coppers, and browns. All collections come in 6 colors in individual jars with screw on lids that are .5 oz each. I love this makeup because you can do so much with it, it's not just for eyes.

I'm not sure when this company started, but spotted them at a Canadian Makeup show in Toronto in 2007. Not knowing who they were I immediately wanted to buy some of their products from their booth. I bought the Broadway collection and Shock Effect collection, both are very bright colors. The packaging is a bit messy since the jars do not have the sifters on them, they are just open with the lids of course. So application can be a bit messy but the color pay off is amazing! You can apply them wet or dry, but I would recommend damping your makeup brush to get a better and more intense effect.

I did mention their products aren't just for eyes right? Well not only can you use it for eye shadow but you can use it for eye liner, nail polish, lips, bronzer, and temporary hair highlights. Yes it's a lot but it's really cool that you can do so much with one product. They do make their own eye primer and lip gloss which is clear, you can mix these with the mica to produce your own lip gloss or eye liner. For nail polish, they say use clear polish and mix the mica in to it to get the color you want, you can mix more than one color to make your own custom color polish. To make bronzer, add a white lotion to a small amount of color desired and mix then apply to the face. Last of all for temp. hair highlights, they say to just brush it on in the desired pieces of hair and set with hair spray.

Would I recommend Naked Cosmetics? I say yes, it's awesome as an eye shadow. I've only used it as a lip gloss besides as a shadow and found it to be hard to apply but with the right lip gloss I'm sure it can be done. Their product goes on very smooth and is very pigmented. Urban Rustic is a great selection of colors, usually I'm into neons and bright colors too much but this set really caught my eye. Do use powder under your eyes or a tissue to catch the falling shadow since application of the product can be messy. For more info go to: nakedcosmetics.net







Below are swatches of Urban Rustic!

Get the look - Violet Zombie

What was used:
MAC NC20 Studio Fix
Urban Decay Primer Eye Potion
MAC Eye Brow Velvetone Pencil
Urban Decay Polyester Bride
Sugarpill Absinthe Chromalust
MAC White Frost Eye Shadow
Sephora Eye Shadow Collection Aspen Summit
MAC Dazzle Lash Black Mascara
MAC Engrave Eye Pencil
MAC Ebony Eye Pencil
Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil Ransom
Yaby Blush Refill bl020
OCC Lip Tar Divine
OCC Brushes
Crown Brushes

OCC Nail Lacquer - Tattoo

A couple of months ago I made a trip down to Toronto for IMATS (International makeup artist trade show) and spent the day shopping, learning and watching makeup demonstrations. I stopped by at the OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) booth to pick up a few products. They gave me a few items to review, one of the products they gave me was a nail lacquer called tattoo. This product is brand new and I don't think it's even on their website yet for ordering. It's a very dark forest green like but almost black in some lighting with a hint of green. Hence the name tattoo, it looks like the color of a faded tattoo which I think is pretty cool. I tried it recently and I love the results. You only need one coat of this polish but you can apply two if need be. A little goes along way. This is probably some of the best nail polish I have ever used so far. I've been wearing this color for 5 days now and still no chipping. I did how ever apply a coat of clear polish over it for protection, I always recommend one or two coats of it over your color.

Each nail lacquer is $8.00 and totally worth the money. In my opinion this is way better than OPI. I'm not sure about China Glaze since I have never tried it but have heard nothing but great things about it and have read good reviews. OCC also offers a discount to MUA's at 20% off, so you can't go wrong! The polish is an easy application and dries very quickly, they are also very pigmented. These polishes are definitely camera ready and ideal for editorials, a must for any MUA or manicurist. My pictures below:









Image from occmakeup.com, go here for more!

Sugarpill Cosmetics!

Okay I know these have been out for a long time now and everyone and their mom has reviewed them, but I wanted to put my own two cents in. I recently made an order from Sugarpill to see what the hype was all about and ordered two loose powders and two pressed powders. I ordered royal sugar chromalust, absinthe chromalust, love+ pressed eye shadow, and dollipop pressed eye shadow. The loose come in a 5 gram jar and the pressed come in a 4 gram little compact container. I got my package this passed Wednesday and needless to say I was very impressed with their packaging of the items. The package of the products themselves is super cool but that's not the only reason to like a product people! I first tried the pressed eye shadows and am very in love with the colors. They are very bright and very pigmented. They remind me very much of Make Up For Ever's pressed eye shadows and are cheaper since MUFE is $19.00 and Sugarpill is $12.00 each, unless you get the MUA 40% discount like me from MUFE then it's a different story. They also reminded me a lot of Kryolan eye shadows as well. Let's say maybe Kryolan and Make up for ever had a baby, the out come would be Sugarpill.

As for the loose shadows (chromalust) I find them very pigmented as well. They go on very smooth like the pressed shadows and are easy to blend. Although as pigmented as they are I still recommend to always use a primer on your lids no matter what, since it will make the life of wearing your eye shadow a lot longer. For Christmas eve I did try the dollipop and it was very bright on and I find that if you have an eye brow brush or eye liner brush it can also be used as a liner if you damp your brush a bit. I haven't tried it for eye brows but I'm sure if you're crafty enough it could actually work. One thing I did find while applying this is you should use loose powder under your eyes to catch the falling shadow when applying because it can get a bit messy and these will definitely stain your skin. If you don't like to use loose powder, try using a tissue and holding it under your eye to catch the falling shadow it's just good practice. With the mentioning of staining, I did find that the love+ and dollipop do stain your eye lids for a day or two after removing it with makeup remover or makeup removing wipes just like Make up for ever's pressed eye shadows. Not totally a big deal and might not happen to everyone but did to me.

So my conclusion, it's some of the best makeup I have ever purchased from and will buy from them again. I know $12.00 maybe steep and you think it'll break your bank but for this good of a quality it's so worth it! If you like bright intense colors this brand is for you. Thumbs up to the packaging as well since it's not just all about awesome packaging with disappointing products inside. This is definitely awesome for photography and theater. Every MUA should have some Sugarpill in their kit! My pictures below, enjoy:









From left to right above swatches: Absinthe Chromalust, Royal Sugar Chromalust, Dollipop pressed shadow, and Love+ pressed shadow. sugarpillshop.com for more!

OCC Brushes!

Recently OCC Makeup (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) came out with their own brush set, I happen to get a set while I was at IMATS Toronto for review. This is a set of 9 brushes from OCC and is also vegan friendly. The brushes are very soft and are shaped for easy application for makeup. Brushes are a bit on the pricey side if you're used to buying from Crown or Coastal Scents, but you're paying for quality. In my opinion the more expensive and well made brushes produce a way better application than say if you bought from a cheap distributor. In other words you get what you pay for. Over all review, I would recommend these brushes. They're definitely worth the money especially if you are a professional MUA, you're better off to invest in a good quality brush set to get the best results with your makeup. Plus some of the eye brushes are shaped differently than any other brush company I've seen so far, which makes way for a new experience with eye shadows, eye liners, etc. Go to occmakeup.com for more!



Image from occmakeup.com



My own image!

*More reviews, looks and other goodies on the way!

Kryolan - Rio Palette

For those of you who don't know who Kryolan is, they are a theatrical makeup company from Germany, they are sold through distributors here in the U.S. I've been using this brand for a few years now and I really enjoy their products. For them being a theatrical brand of makeup, you know it's going to be along the lines of Ben Nye. I recently bought this rio palette from IMATS in Toronto from their booth, it was only $26.00. For 5 shadows it was totally worth the money. The colors are very bright and I just love bright colors, always a sucker for buying them. I also purchased their eye shadow base along with it, which was $6.00 for a .33 oz tube. The base is very creamy and goes on smooth. The color is a light beige and kind of looks like a foundation. I did find if you rub it into the skin too much though it does start to flake off a bit, this could be due to dry skin also since it is Winter. The shadows themselves, I must say I am impressed! They're bold, bright and are very soft and smooth, definitely can tell they are easy to blend which is also a big plus. All the shadows are very pigmented so you know for photography they'll be a hit. Over all I say definitely worth picking up and so is the eye shadow base for the money, in comparison to Urban Decay's which $18.00 to $29.00 a tube.





Links to buy:
kryolan.com
danceshopper.com/ballroom-make-up-kryolan
shop.ebay.com/shrinkle/m.html
camerareadycosmetics.com