Sparkled Beauty

We are switching to high-end makeup for the day with Marc Jacobs (LE) The Sofia 5 piece petite Le Marc lip creme collection, named after Sofia Coppola, the film maker.

I originally bought Marc Jacobs Style Eye-con No 20 palette for the holiday but Sephora cancelled my order (inventory issue, they said), so I decided on this lip collection to try out this lipstick line that I heard a lot about.

Marc Jacobs' standard luxury packaging - a velvety tray to hold the lipsticks, kept inside a glossy patent leather pouch and a glittery printed box. The mini tubes look decent size until you remove the cap to see that the bullet is a lot smaller than the base it sits on.

Here are Infamous, Dashing, So Sofia, Boy Gorgeous and Blow, some of the bestselling reds in the line. I can appreciate a bold lip set (not the often seen nude ones), with shades named after iconic women that have inspired Marc Jacobs himself.

These Le Marc lip creme lipsticks are formulated with concentrated color-boost pigments that are triple-milled and enriched with hydrating ingredients - powerful peptides, antioxidant-rich seaberry, and natural humectants (including meranti and cocoa butter).

Knowing all that, I was still surprised to find the lipsticks very creamy and pigmented. I hardly needed to layer them at all. For the 10 hour wear claim, I did not get that far but 5-6 hours were fine with me and I didn't mind to reapply.

Swatches below were done with just one swipe each. Infamous, described as a soft peony is the most easy-to-wear non-nude shade, I can wear it everyday. Dashing, a cherry red, and its darker partner Blow (dark berry velvet, far right) are in the opposite colour spectrum and glam up your night looks in an instant.

A shade I don't see very often in lip sets but enjoy quite a bit: a watermelon pink called So Sofia (middle). And Boy Gorgeous, a berry pink (second from right), is gorgeous, pun intended :)

The deluxe size in the set is 0.05oz, a bit less than half size, so 5 shades together equal about 2 full sized lipsticks (0.12oz, reg. $38). The $54 price tag is worth it if you want to treat yourself to something nice.

I bought Marc Jacobs The Sky Liner petite Highliner gel eye crayon collection, the day it came back in stock online.

The set includes 5 bestselling colours - Blacquer, In the Buff!, (Wave)length, Ody(sea) and (Stone)Fox - and 2 new LE shades - Express-oh! and Boys & Berry, all wrapped up in a sleek, shiny Marc Jacobs pouch.

The chosen colours are beautiful, boosted by the shiny silver tubes and caps. Shade name is printed on the pencil right where the cap ends, so if you close the cap too tightly, the name is not easy to see.

Marc Jacobs Highliner gel eye crayons are supposed to be intense, waterproof with great color payoff, go on smoothly and last all day. No argument from me with pigmentation (see below) and lasting power (all day, only come off with a cleansing oil).

Here are Blacquer (black, probably the most well known shade), Express-oh! (espresso shimmer), In the Buff! (champagne shimmer), Boys & Berry (boysenberry shimmer), (Wave)length (midnight blue), Ody(sea) (teal green) and (Stone)Fox (metal gray).

However, quality and application did not match expectation. The liners feel hard upon contact and are hard to draw on, especially the 2 new shades. Upon warming up, they glide on a bit easier but not by much. Then 2 of the shades broke off at the tip just with swatching, hence the messy swatch of (Wave)length.

I love that I don't have to worry about these liners once they are on but have such a hard time getting them on at the first place. Don't think I will keep this set in the stash.

The pencils are 0.01oz each. The set is $58, still available now.

Brrr... it is really cold today, on the last day of Fall. Flurries are in the air, it would be a beautiful sight if the wind wasn't blowing so hard. I am ready to go play at the beach somewhere warm now.

Back to makeup :) This is my fancy/ luxurious FOTD using Marc Jacobs Lightshow iluminizing powder in Close-up and the Showstopper collection with:
- Style Eye-con No.3 Plush Shadow palette in The Star
- Magic Marc'er Precision Pen eyeliner in Blacquer
- Lash Lifter Gel Volume mascara in Blacquer
- Lust For Lacquer Lip vinyl in Kiss This, layered a few coats for coverage.

Like I mentioned in the review, I love the eyeshadow palette the most for its beautiful colours and pigmentation.

Other products used:
- CoverGirl Clean Whipped creme foundation in 320 Creamy Natural
- Hard Candy Glamouflage in Medium
- Elf baked blush in Rich Rose
- ArtDeco eyeshadow base
- Milani Liquid Eye liquid-like eyeliner pencil in Black on the lower lash line.

Still all the routine products here, nothing out of the ordinary.

I think, unlike me, my skin prefers the cold weather as I haven't broken out as much since the temperature changed dramatically. On lazy days, I went without a concealer and was fine with it emotionally, even though I still had a lot to hide. I guess I am done fighting with flaws and learn to live with them. About time, at this stage in my life huh?

One more pic for the eye makeup close-up. Told you the colours work well together :) Now I understand why many people went for the long palette by the brand during the VIB sale, despite its price tag.

Have a great week guys, we are half way there!

Signed: Hardie Perthshire on Savera Redpath.

Those are my Hunger Games name and my blog's name according to the name generator on Vulture.com. They sound so cool huh? What's yours?

It's even more funny to find out that the generator is very random and not consistent. If I enter my name again, it'd give me a totally different name. Well, I'll stick with Hardie and Savera for now lol.

Are you excited for Catching Fire? I had an opportunity to go for the preview but can't make it, so I went play with makeup instead :)

A quick post today guys, as work is getting crazy a week before my vacation. Isn't it always the case? :)

Another Marc Jacobs holiday item to accompany the Showstopper collection, this is the Lightshow luminizing powder in 302 Close-Up. Inspired by Marc Jacobs' Fall 2013 runway show, the compact offers that feeling of luxury once again - the cute little pouch that snaps shut to protect the sleek black compact inside, no accidental slip-out.

And it's even more beautiful under the lid. Look at that!

The weaving pattern is breath taking, shows off a blend of 3 colours - a white, a light gold and a tan.

Marc Jacobs says they are luminous and complexion brightening shades, making the powder multi-dimensional. It does give off that look in the pan, but I can't say it is in fact brightening my complexion without a good amount of that white shade.

The gold shimmers are only on the surface but it would take a while to make them disappear with wear, unless you are willing to wipe them all off at once.

Another claim is the powder has a creamy texture that creates velvet finish and long wear. I do enjoy the finish it gives but the effect is almost visible that it is not easy to tell.

Swatches, done after a few uses of the powder (i.e. the shimmers are still prominent). Not that you can tell, but at the top is the swatch of the powder when I swirl a blush brush around catching all shades.

In the middle is the white side and at the bottom is the gold and tan side of the compact (they are quite close in colours).

All you (and I) can see is the gold glitters all over, not much of a colour payoff. I am aware that I could get the gold and tan shades show up more by using a dense brush, but as I intend to use them as bronzer/ highlighter, a fluffy brush is what I am using.

So, unfortunately, for me, this powder would not be luminizing enough until all that shimmers at the top wear off. And even then, I still wish for more pigmentation and effect that it gives. Once again, the high price tag $71 (for 0.38oz) is not worth it.

In case you want to give this powder a try, it is Limited Edition, might be gone from Sephora soon :) I did a FOTD so you can see it on. What do you think?

It is really getting festive in the beauty world. This is Marc Jacobs Showstopper collection with essentials from the brand in full size (except the EDP) and some new/ Limited Edition shades.

Since its debut at Sephora, Marc Jacobs has been talked about quite a bit with a few standout products.

The price range is totally out of my budget, so while I am happy to receive the kit to review for you guys, I do note the price details if you do consider splurging on a single product.

The collection includes:
- Lash Lifter Gel Volume mascara in Blacquer (0.24oz, reg. $31)
- Magic Marc'er Precision Pen eyeliner in Blacquer (0.016oz, reg. $36)
- Style Eye-con No.3 Plush Shadow palette in The Star (0.12oz, reg. $50)
- Lust For Lacquer Lip vinyl in Kiss This (0.16oz, reg. $34), and
- Marc Jacobs Honey EDP mini rollerball (0.13oz - the full size of 0.24 oz is $30 reg.).

All house in a black patent leather makeup bag designed by Marc Jacobs of course, with a mirror included in the back pocket.

Let's have a look at each product in the collection.

The Lash Lifter Gel Volume mascara is supposed to have the E-Lash-Tic Lash technology, with micro-crystalline powders that coat and stretch the lashes for maximum length, volume, and curl.

I agree with the claim of smooth application and no flakes/ no clumps. The medium sized brush with short bristles is not hard to work with my short lashes. However, I found it did not do much other than making my lashes look a little darker. Not worth the money, I'm afraid.

The Magic Marc'er Precision Pen eyeliner is better - a waterproof liquid eyeliner developed in Japan, inspired by the calligraphy pen for drawing the finest lines. To a newbie like me, the liner was easy to maneuver, and the fast drying formula last quite a good while. It is a good liner, but nothing spectacular compared to its drugstore counterparts.

Now this Style Eye-con No.3 Plush Shadow palette in The Star is my favorite from the set.

It is shimmery and metallic, very holiday appropriate, and a dramatic holiday at that, due to the colour selection.

Marc Jacobs eyeshadows have advanced pigments that allow good color payoff and long lasting performance. I enjoy all three shades equally. The size arrangement of the palette makes sense, as they know we would not need much black to intensify the look as we do with the other two shades.

The Lust For Lacquer Lip vinyl in Kiss This is another fun one.

The formula is champagne grape infused, with antioxidants, essential oils, and a hint of effervescence. The applicator shape makes it easy to distribute the product on the lips, and its side is perfect to line the edges precisely.

This particular shade is not fully pigmented by itself, so I normally use it on top of a lip liner filled in.

Not much I have to say about the Honey EDP mini rollerball other than stating the obvious - It's floral and warm with top notes of pear and mandarin. The base notes of honey, vanilla and smooth woods dry down beautifully. Its size is perfect for your little holiday clutch for those fun parties, or makeup bag for daily use.

Here are the swatches of the coloured products.

At the top are the eyeshadow shades. The while and gold shade both have beautiful metallic sheen. The gold is more sheer, which I prefer to use to top up the eyeshadow in the middle of the lids for that little extra oomph.

The eyeliner is at the bottom left, dark and pretty. The lip vinyl is a beautiful reddish pink, with gold shimmers. On the lips, the shimmers are just enough for the shine, not chunky or uncomfortable. It does have a subtle scent of vanilla mint, hard to describe.

The Showstopper collection retails $107 (values $261), Limited Edition. The makeup bag and mirror are luxurious looking, nice to have but I personally can't justify the whole set. However, if you want the eyeshadow palette, the lip vinyl and the mini rollerball, they add up almost to the price of the set. Here is a FOTD I did with items in the collection.