A Guide to Brushes: Eye Brushes, Part 3: Blending Brushes 2

Part three of my brush guide is all about crease blending brushes.  These brushes are good for either applying color to the crease, blending color already applied to the crease, or both, and they all have round ferrules.  This post features some of my favorite brushes, and certainly my favorite styles of brushes.  At least one of these styles is a must for anyone's brush collection

Pointed Crease Brushes

From smallest to largest, Hakuhodo 146 (blue squirrel), MAC 226, Hakuhodo 142 (blue squirrel), Bobbi Brown Eye Blender.  The smallest of these brushes is less tapered than the larger ones (but still ends in a point, which is why I included it in this set); it is great for applying color to the crease or for really careful blending of a strong or cut crease.  The medium and large brushes have a fat belly, which tapers to a point.  The medium sized brushes are good for applying a basic crease on small to medium eyes.  The largest of these brushes is probably too big for applying to anyone's crease, but it is a good finishing brush for removing edges, especially since it's soft.  It's also a fantastic powder brush for small areas; it's my go-to undereye powder brush.

The pointed crease brush is really useful because the tip gets into the deepest part of the crease and the surrounding taper blends it as you go.  If you're new to blending eyeshadow or not very good at it, this brush does a lot of the work.  I'd suggest using this brush in a windshield wiper motion, going back and forth in the crease.

Rounded Crease Brushes

MAC 224, MAC 222 (goat), Urban Decay Crease Brush (synthetic), Paula Dorf Sheer Crease, Daniel Sandler Blending Brush.  These brushes are quite similar to the pointed crease brushes, except that, instead of coming to a point, they end in a dome shape.  The Paula Dorf actually was tapered when I first bought it, but a few uses and washes and it fluffs out into a rounder shaper, which is what I wanted from it, so I'm including it here.  These are great crease brushes and work well for applying a wash of color on the lid, too.  I should probably say that I'm not a huge fan of the MAC 224.  I'm willing to give it another try after using a brush guard on it (for this picture), but I still think it's too floppy for applying shadow and not great for blending it either.  A lot of people love it, though, so I'm not excluding it on personal bias.

These brushes are amazing for buffing shadow into the crease, using small circles.  The Paula Dorf and Daniel Sandler brushes are both favorites of makeup artist and YouTube guru Lisa Eldridge, who uses them in a lot of her videos, so I suggest watching to see these babies in action.  Actually, what are you doing reading this garbage; go and watch her videos now, all of them, and learn things I couldn't even start to teach you.

Domed Crease Brushes

RT Deluxe Create Brush, Sonia Kashuk Large Domed Eye Shadow Brush (goat).  These large, fluffy brushes are very round along two axes.  The SK one is nearly spherical in shape.  I really like these for blending the outer corner, but they're good for blending really large creases (either anatomically or application-ally).  When I first bought the SK, I tried to use it as a crease brush, and the results were frightening.  I imagine with a lighter hand it could work, but I still think it's best to stick to it for blending.

These also make for amazing concealer brushes.  The RT, because it's synthetic, is actually one of my go to concealer brushes, as it is for it's creator.  I like it as a concealer brush so much that I'll be including it in that post, too. 

Synthetic Crease Brush

I had no idea what to call this brush, so I just called it what Sonia Kashuk does.  This brush is, obviously, synthetic and is perfect for applying cream eye shadows to the crease.  I think that's something often overlooked by brush manufacturers.  You see, this isn't just a brush made synthetic for people who don't want animal hair (like the UD Crease brush above), it's a brush that's actually great for using cream eyeshadows in the crease.  I also use it to apply cream eyeshadows to the mobile lid.

Smoky Shadow Brushes

This is a great brush style; it's a personal favorite of mine, and the Smashbox 15 on the left is my first department store brush (it's still awesome).  Featured alongside are a Hakuhodo Kokutan T (blue squirrel) and an Essence of Beauty Crease Brush.  This style is a must for small eyes or deep creases.  They are also amazing for blending eyeshadow under the eye, deepening the outer corner, highlighting the inner corner, and they're often marketed to be used to apply a thick, smoky line of shadow around the eye (hence their title).

I could say of a lot of brushes that I would recommend them, but this style, I actually do, all the time.  I don't think there is a thing this style of brush can't do.  Whether you like smoky looks, or really defined looks (or both), this brush can do it.

Pros and Cons

Pros:  The brushes featured here are some of the most useful brushes to have.  There isn't an eye shape or size, whether you have a crease or not, that won't find at least one of these brushes useful.  They are terrific for crease application, crease blending, and some of them are good for outer corner and under the eye.  Because they tend to be softer than the oval blending brush, they are useful if you tend towards a heavy hand when blending.

Cons:  As great as these brushes are for blending the crease, you may need to use another blending brush in tandem when creating a smooth gradiant.  But honestly, if they suit your style, you could likely use any one of these brushes for anything you need to do, they're that versatile and essential.

The brushes featured in this post are: Hakuhodo S146, MAC 226 (LE), Hakuhodo S142, Bobbi Brown Eye Blender brush, MAC 224, MAC 222 (dc'd), Urban Decay Crease Brush (from the Naked 2 Palette, though it is available separately), Paula Dorf Sheer Crease Brush, Daniel Sandler Blending Brush, Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush, Sonia Kashuk Large Domed Eye Shadow Brush, Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Domed Crease Brush, Smashbox 15 Brush, Hakuhodo Kokutan Eye Shadow Brush T, and Essence of Beauty Crease Brush.  All were purchased and I received no compensation for including them in this post.

A Guide to Brushes: Eye Brushes, Part 2: Blending Brushes 1

Part two of my comprehensive brush guide is blending brushes, which will be separated into two posts themselves.  This post features blending brushes with pinched ferrules, while the next post will feature round ferrules.  The pinched ferrule makes this set wider than they are thick, so they have two directions to use.  The pinched ferrule makes them similar to the previously featured flat shader brushes, but they are all fluffier and thicker, which makes them better suited to blending than the shaders are.

Fluffy Blending Brushes

Here we have three very large blending brushes: Hakuhodo Kokutan L, Paula Dorf Eye Blender, and Kokutan MLL.  They're pretty big; the Kokutan L is an inch long, 5/8 inch wide at the ferrule and 1/2 inch thick.  The two Hakuhodos are both blue squirrel, and the Paula Dorf is soft too.  I wish all brush purveyors would list the hair type on their website.  Of course, then they might face the wrath of PETA.  Heh.  I guess you've noticed these brush posts are not for vegans.

These brushes are all super soft and great for applying a soft wash of color over the whole lid area and for all over blending. Since they're so soft, they're great for heavy handed blenders, but since they're huge, they're terrible for detail blending. I like to use them "off-book" for applying cheek highlighter, blush, and powdering small areas.

Oval Blending Brushes

The be-all and end-all of blending brushes for a lot of people, here we have MAC's classic 217, also a Sephora Pro Oval Blending brush 27, Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush, Sephora Classic blending 29, a Paula Dorf eye shadow brush (sorry; it's from a travel set I've had for forever), and a RT Domed Shadow brush.  The two white are goat hair, the two RT's are synthetic and the other two are soft hair of unknown origin.  MAC's 217 is a beloved brush by many people, for blending edges, for applying color to all parts of the mobile lid, and for applying to the crease.  I think they're great for both blending and applying to the lid, but I almost never use one for the crease.  I don't think it suits my own eye shape, but, honestly, I never use it for anyone else's crease either.  The goat is good for light touch blenders, a group to which I belong, but if you're heavy handed, you  might find the synthetics or a soft hair, like squirrel more suited to your technique.  The goat hair also holds up better to cream products.

These blenders are great for applying a smooth gradiant over the lid and into the crease, a feature lacking in flat shader brushes.  That makes these useful for smoky eyes and cat eyes (a cat eye, though often a mislabeled doe eye, which is eyeliner that flicks out at the end, is used here to mean eye shadow that emphasizes the outer corner in a point.  I suppose I could use the internet invention "outer v," but I think that would confuse you, as they're often first added with a detail brush.  Not to mention the fact that the "outer v" as a thing is both nonexistent and silly.).  An overall great blending brush and shadow brush, these are also good for concealer.

Pros and Cons

Pros:  These are  great all around blender brushes, good for both application and blending.  Very good for creating a gradiant; they work well in conjuction with flat shader brushes to create a wide variety of eye makeup styles.  The fluffy brushes will apply a sheer amount, and are good for all over blending on large eyes.  Oval blending brushes are denser and great for both applying and blending, and a lot of people use them for crease brushes too.  Look for hair types that suit your blending style; denser goat for light handed blenders, softer hairs like squirrel for heavy handed blenders.  Both types of blenders are great multi-taskers, being useful for face powder and blush/highlighter or concealer.  It's a good idea to have more than one blending brush in your collection, whether you need an assortment of sizes and shapes has a lot to do with your eye shape and what you want them for.

Cons:  I think oval blenders are ill-suited for creases, and people with small eyes or deep creases will likely agree with me.  When they are used for creases, it often results in a lack of precision.  The fluffy blending brushes are probably also too large for people with small eyes, too.  These sorts of brushes are a hit or miss; if they work for you, they are probably staples, and if you don't, you find yourself frustrated and confused why they seemingly work for everyone but you.

This post featured: Hakuhodo Kokutan Eye L, Paula Dorf Eye Blender (the eye blender currently on the website seems smaller), Hakuhodo Kokutan Eye MLL, MAC 217, Sephora Pro 27, Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush (found in the Starter Set), Sephora Classic 29, Paula Dorf Eye Shadow (from travel set, dc'd), Real Techniques Domed Shadow Brush (from Travel Essentials).  All brushes were purchased and I received no compensation for featuring them.

A Guide to Brushes: Eye brushes, part 1: Flat Shader Brushes

This is part one of a comprehensive series on brushes. I decided to start with the ever handy flat shader brush, sometimes called a laydown brush.  It's the most basic of all the eyeshadow brushes, and I think when you're just getting into brushes, it's probably where you should begin.  The shader brush is available from nearly every brush line at every quality level, and in every possible fiber from synthetic to goat to super high quality kolinsky.  This post will cover three sizes: small, medium, and large (okay, kind of obvious, but I could have called them Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and then you'd be confused).  I will also discuss uses for each size, brush hair, and how you should pick a shader brush.

Small Shader Brushes

These brushes are both about 1/2 inch wide and are the smallest shader brushes in my collection.  The one on the left is a Sephora synthetic and the one on the right is a sable brush from a beauty store.  In this case, sable probably means blunt-cut, like a second from a higher quality brush.

This size is obviously good for smaller lid areas, so if you have small eyes, you might want to consider this size.  It's also good for detail work, applying eyeshadow to the inner third, highlighting the center, or darkening the outer third, as its small size ensures dense placement.  It applies a strong highlight to the brow bone and shadow under the eye to define.  This size also makes a terrific lip brush, especially for fuller lips.  I actually bought the Sephora one for that purpose.

Medium Shader Brushs

 

 

The medium shader brush is the most basic of all eyeshadow brushes.  This is the most versatile of all the sizes, and is what most people will be looking for.  This set is about 3/8ths of an inch wide, and vary in length between 3/8ths of an inch and 5/8ths of an inch. 

 

 

These are great for applying eye shadow to the lid, especially if you want to pack on color, for either a strong look or when using a sheerer shadow.  They can be turned on their side and the tip used to apply shadow in the crease or under the eye.  From left to right they are an unknown hair by Japonesque, a goat hair by MAC, Real Techniques shading brush which is synthetic, a mix of natural and synthetic by MAC, a beautiful weasel by Hakuhodo, and another sable by Brandon that I got at a beauty store more than a decade ago and was my first "real" brush.  The natural/synthetic mix is good for laying down either powders or cream, and the goat is especially good for dense applications, the weasel is amazing and applies eyeshadow super smoothly.  These are also likely going to be the brush to turn to for applying powder shadows wet for foiling or super-dense application.  They can also double as concealer brushes for applying under the eyes or on large areas for redness.

Large Shader Brushes

These large brushes are about 1/2 inch wide, and are synthetic MAC, mix of synthetic and natural by Paula Dorf, and sable by Brandon. 

These are good for applying a base, either cream or powder.  Even though they are very wide, they are still flat, so they apply more product to the lid than a fluffier brush would.  This makes them great for something like a MAC paint pot, when you want to apply a thin but very even layer.  They also work well, obviously, for someone with a large or flat eye area.

Pros and Cons

Pros:  The flat shader brush is easy to use and versatile.  It's good for basic looks or as a base or detail brush for more complicated makeup.  They work well for wet or dry application and, depending on the hair type, are appropriate for cream shadows. They can double as concealer brushes and lip brushes.  They are useful for applying shadow to nearly every part of the eye area.  A shader brush is likely available in every line and price range, is often the core of the line, such as the Shu Uemura Natural 10, or the MAC 242, 239 etc. 

Cons:  These are not blending brushes.  While they can soften the demarcation between two colors applied to the mobile lid, these won't work well to blend a gradiant, so you'll need to use another brush to blend (fortunately, blending brushes will be the next brush types featured).  While they make for surprisingly good crease brushes when the tip is used, most eye shapes will prefer to use a separate crease or blending brush there. 

I fully believe a flat shader brush should be everyone's first eyeshadow brush.  These three sizes were my first three brushes, and I still remember the pride that my eyeshadow finally looked the way I wanted it to.  Choose one that fits your eye size, your budget, and how you want to use, and you will likely find yourself using it every day, whether your eye makeup is subtle or exciting.

The brushes featured in this post are: Sephora Synthetic Eyeshadow 18 (dc'd), Brandon Mini Shading Brush, Japonesque Eye Detailer Medium, MAC 239, Real Techniques Shading Brush, MAC 242, Hakuhodo S132, Brandon Fluff Brush, MAC 249, Brandon Shading Brush, Paula Dorf Wet/Dry Eye Color.  All were purchased by me and I was not compensated for this post.  One caveat:  the Brandon brushes I own were bought more than a decade ago, while they still have brushes by the same name available, I make no promises that they are the same brushes featured here.

Tokyomilk Dark Lip Elixirs

Tokyomilk Dark's lip elixer is not only my favorite lip balm of the moment, it's also one of my favorite products of all time.  To say I'm obsessed is an understatement; just look at the picture above--I currently own six out of eight of them.  The only ones I don't currently have are Dead Sexy, which I've never tried, and La Vie en Rose, which I gave to my mother.  The scents and flavors of these beauties are unusual, delicious, practically made for me.  I will try to control the gushing as I review the six presented here.

They come packaged in a gorgeous, metal tin, with raised lettering and design.  They can be hard to open, especially after they've clattered aroudn in purse.  They are originally sealed with a plastic band around the edge and a paper label across the middle.  This label is the only place with the flavor written on it, so I suggest you cut it, as I did, instead of peeling it off.  I love pot lip balms, mostly because they tend to be softer than sticks.  I know a lot of people worry about hygiene, but I am careful to only stick clean fingers in and not double dip, so I'm not worried.

Just look at that thick, luscious balm!  Don't you  just want to stick your finger in that?!?

Okay, so it's not the prettiest picture, but nobody's perfect, even though this comes close. 

Lip Elixirs are thick, they're a petrolatum and microcystalline wax base.  I know a lot of people don't like petroleum jelly, but I have always loved balms based on it: Kiehl's, Rosebud Salve.  Waxy lipbalms, like Burt's Bee's have always sat on top of my lips and never spread well.  This stuff, however, balances both petrolatum and wax in the formula, so the texture is neither overly petrolatum-y nor waxy.  It's like if the Kiehl's lip balm and the Burt's Bee's lip balm had a baby that was raised by Jack Black's lip balm. 

The ingredients, as listed on Cherry Bourbon, are:  petrolatum, microcrystal wax, flavor, canola ooil and oil barbadensis (aloe vera) leaf extract, tocopherol (vitamin E), tocopheryl (Vitamin E) acetate, stevia rebaudiana (Stevia) leaf extract, organic camellia sinensis (green tea) leaf extract, carthamus tinctorius (safflower) seed oil and jasminum officinale (jasmine) flower extract, monarda didyma (bee balm) leaf extract. 

I get a lot of moisture from them, and I do lean towards dry lips.  Actually, I ended up with most of them because my wonderful sister took pity on me and gifted me with five of them after my lip split open when I smiled.  They are also very protective; you can lip your lips--and you will want to--and they will still be on.  Now, on to the important stuff--how do they smell and taste.

No. 22 Smoked Salt

Flavor Notes: Smoked Sea Salt, Burnt Sugar, Molasses, Vanilla Bean (as per their website)

On first sniff, there is overwhelming smoke.  It's not a woody smoke, though.  After a few minutes, I start to get salt and a background of burnt sugar or molasses.  I never smell vanilla bean.  I think the smokiness would turn a lot of people away, but I kind of like it.

The flavor isn't really smoky at all.  The sweetness from the stevia dominates.  I get the burnt sugar and molasses notes and that's it.

This one is the most controversial, but it's unusual and if you like the smell of smoke, I think you will love it.  It's not my favorite, though.

No. 84 Absinthe

Flavor Notes: Anise, Mineral Salt, Citrus Peel, Crushed Herbs

How cool is it that there's an absinthe flavor!  The scent is the most waxy smelling at first, and I don't really get absinthe (though I keep meaning to smell my sister's bottle when I'm at her house).  I get some citrus, maybe a touch of the anise most associated with absinthe.  It's familiar, but I can't place it.  It's quite lovely, though, and probably one of the coolest scents/flavors in my opinion.

Flavorwise, I definitely get absinthe.  That licorice-y anise flavor and the sweetness reminiscent of a glass of absinthe with a sugar cube dominate.  It's damn awesome, and would be my favorite if it weren't for the fact that this flavor and this flavor alone makes my lips burn and itch.  Sad face.

No. 77 Cherry Bourbon

Flavor Notes: Cherry Brandy, Whiskey, Aged Wood, Clove

I smell cherry, whiskey, and that beautiful background of wood.  This one is very true to it's intended flavor notes.  Deep and rich and beautifully balanced.  I think cherry brandy is a great description of the cherry flavor, it's not candyish, nor overly fruity, and the whole thing if reminscent of a great glass of aged alcohol.

The flavor is really similar to the scent.  Rich and sweet with cherry notes and an aged bourbon whiskey. 

No. 36 Salted Caramel

Flavor Notes: Sweet Cream, Sea Salt, Caramelized Sugar, Toasted Vanilla Bean

The scent is instantly and recognizably buttery caramel.  More reminiscent of caramel popcorn than a fine candy, though.  After a few sniffs, the scent becomes deeper, more vanilla and more burnt sugar.

The taste is less buttery, more mellow caramely and salty.  It tastes like dessert, and I think it would be great if you want to try one and are scared of Smoked Salt or Clove Cigarette.  Delicious!

No. 60 Coco Noir

Flavor Notes: Dark Rum, Maraschino Cherry, Sweet Milk, Cacao Bean

The opening scent note is cocoa--super dark and kind of bitter--which is slightly artificial smelling and maraschino cherry.  It's a different scent of cherry than in the Cherry Bourbon, less alcoholic and more candy, which suits the note description of Maraschino cherry. 

It's tastes mostly of cherry, too, with the chocolate no longer strong nor artificial.  It seems there is less Stevia in the flavor, so it's not as sweet as the Salted Caramel or the absinthe.  This is definitely for the lover of chocolate covered cherries.

No. 18 Clove Cigarettes

Flavor Notes: Crushed Clove, Lavender Rose, Saigon Cinnamon, Vanilla Bean

Clove and cinnamon definitely dominate the scent, and I get just a hint of smokiness.  It's luscious and spicy.

The balance between the sweetness of the stevia and the flavor of the cloves is perfect.  It tastes nothing like sticking your head in the spice cabinet, fortunately.  This is undeniably my favorite flavor.  It's warm and sweet, but still super cool.  It's less your grandmother's cookies and more rebellious seventh grade smoking clove cigarettes in the girls' bathroom.  My imaginary junior high is much cooler than my real one was. 

Sephora sells three of them: La Vie En Rose, Salted Caramel and Clove Cigarette, and the rest are available from Tokyomilk's website.  All are seven dollars for .7 oz.

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Gel Shadow Review and Swatches

I bought 7 of these: Audacious Asphalt, Bold Gold, Painted Purple, Tough as Taupe, Bad to the Bronze, Fierce and Tangy, and Pomegranate Punk.

These have been compared to MAC's Paint Pots, but to me, the comparison isn't great. The Color Tattoos are both softer and less creamy than PPs, more gel than cream. When I used one of my favorite brushes to apply PPs, the Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Domed brush, it pretty much dug a hole in Tough as Taupe. Of course the colors hardly compare to the permanent line of Paint Pots most of which are neutral colors and used as powder eyeshadow bases. Few of these are neutral and none of them resemble anyone's skin tone. I believe some might be similar to LE PPs, like Artifact and Pomegranate Punk, but I don't have any of them, so I'm not the person to tell you. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative to Paint Pots, a dupe if you will, don't get fooled by the little glass pots, these aren't the same.

So, now that I've got the inevitable Paint Pot comparison out of the way, let's see how these fare on their own merits. They promise 24hr wear; I hate when marketing makes outrageous claims, even if they are based on lab research. These don't last on me, but not a lot does. Some of the Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams do, but not all of them, MAC Paint Pots don't, Benefit Creaseless Cream shadows don't, though I haven't tried those since they reformulated them and ditched all the awesome colors they used to have, UD Primer Potion doesn't make powder shadows last either. I am cursed with oily lids and eyelids that cause a lot of migration (slightly hooded, with really narrow and deep creases). I've barely gotten four hours, let alone twenty four. I've tried on their own, layered with primer, layered with powder shadows, and layered with primer and powder shadow. I've applied with my fingers, flat brushes, fluffy brushes, synthetic brushes, natural hair brushes, a mix. The best results I had were applying with a synethic/natural hair mix fluffy shader brush over NARS Smudgeproof Shadow Base topped with Powder eyeshadow, like here http://www.bepeachy.blogspot.com/2012/03/estee-lauder-mad-men-collection.html. After a few hours, one eye was pretty intact, while the other had creased. I know other people don't have this problem; a friend who suggested Bad to the Bronze wore them all day. I think if things don't normally crease on you, these probably won't either. If you get creasing due to oily or sweaty eyelids, these probably won't crease. If creasing is a regular occurance, even with creaseless products, I think you'll still have creasing with these.

Very few of these products are a swipe-and-done sort of eye look; pretty much Bad to the Bronze the only one I think anyone would feel comfortable with on its own, though I'd wear Audacious Asphalt, too. The rest would likely be used either in conjunction with another or with a powder shadow layered over it. Tough as Taupe is great as a layer beneath any and all taupe shadows, for creating a neutral base underneath warmer shadows, especially if they turn orange on your skin, or for adding depth to the crease. Some of the shimmery shades don't build up well; neither Pomegranate Punk nor Bold Gold were able to be layered to full opacity, as if the act of applying more (with finger or with brush) took off what was already there. I tried an eye look layering the two together and it was an unmitigated disaster. I was actually kind of bummed, as I bought them for that exact look.

It's rather interesting that Maybelline would choose to launch the product with so few "wearable" shades. Most companies have a core color line of neutrals with a few colors thrown in, while these have a teal, a green, a purple, an orange, and a burgundy right from the start. It's lacking "skin tone" colors such as beige, caramel, and brown tones in either shimmery or matte finishes. I think it's a great thing for lovers of colors, but I also think that most women want a simple and pretty look that doesn't require as much thought as most colors require.

L to R: Audacious Asphalt, Bold Gold, and Painted Purple. Audacious Asphalt is a shimmery gray, it has good payoff and could be used on its own if you like cooler colors. Bold Gold is an almost glittery cool gold. The payoff was lacking and I couldn't layer it to get full opacity. Painted Purple is downright terrible. Very little payoff, an almost lumpy texture, which you can see in the swatch, and what you've already applied disappears as you try to apply more to even it out. That it's a lovely shimmery violet is pretty much irrelevent since it won't actually apply.

L to R: Tough as Taupe, Bad to the Bronze, Fierce and Tangy, Pomegranate Punk. Tough as Taupe is a matte grayish-taupe. On my skin it's a taupe, but I've heard other people describe it as a cool-toned gray on theirs. It has great payoff. Bad to the Bronze also has great payoff. On me it's a metallic rose-gold shade with a definite warm undertone, but again, I think your skintone varies the color a lot, because on the friend who recommended it it was much more of a golden taupe. Fierce and Tangy is a satin finish golden tangerine shade; there is a small amount of shimmer. It has amazing payoff; it would be the first I'd recommend buying if I thought it was a color most people wanted to wear. Pomegrante Punk is a shimmery to metallic burgundy color; there is a hint of warm brown, especially around the edges. I had trouble layering this one to opacity.

A comparison of MUFE Aqua Cream 1 Anthracite, Audacious Asphalt, and Aqua Cream 2 Steel. Anthracite is much darker, almost black in comparison to AA, while Steel is much more reflective and metallic, lighter, and, though it isn't obvious in this picture due to the reflection, slightly warmer.

Overall, I'd say these are a step up from most drugstore products, especially where cream eyeshadows are concerned. They vary greatly from color to color, though, and I'd recommend some and not others. I would suggest Bad to the Bronze and Audacious Asphalt, especially if you are looking for a cream shadow you can wear on its own for a simple day look. I'd also recommend Tough as Taupe, especially if you love taupes like I do. I'd also recommend Fierce and Tangy as its the best quality of the seven I have, but only if you want orange eyeshadow. I tried it as a blush and I think it would work only if you have super oily skin or over a rich cream as it just won't blend over the skin. I think Painted Purple should pretty much be taken off the market and reformulated, it's terrible and useless as even an eyeshadow base. The others depend how much you want the colors.

Mad Men Lipstick Comparison Swatches

From L to R: MAC Lady Danger, Revlon Fire and Ice, Estee Lauder MM Cherry, Laura Mercier Mistress (which I think is discontinued). I thought it would be close to LM Mistress, which is a pinkish red, and I bought because I read that it was used on Mad Men, but you can see it's more red than Cherry.

L to R: Estee Lauder MM Cherry, MAC Brave Red, MAC Russian Red, MAC Ruby Woo. Brave Red is the closest of this quartet, but it's much redder, very tomato-y in comparison.


L to R: Tarte Lipsurgence in Lust, Estee Lauder MM Cherry, Guerlain Rouge Automatique 120 Coq d'Or, Estee Lauder MM Cherry, Poppy King for Boots No. 7 Glamour.  Both the Tarte and the Guerlain have a similar finish the Tarte being slightlier shinier, and the Guerlain being less shiny but having a slight shimmer, but both are redder, while the No. 7 is obviously pink.

But let's face it, if you're going to buy the Estee Lauder, it's not going to be for the color, it's going to be for the packaging and the marketing.

Edited: Fixed and combined the last picture.  After much debate, I decided I had mislabeled the comparison with the RA, and I've had this picture ready for months.

Estee Lauder Mad Men Collection Review and Swatches

Since I am a bit of a Mad Men nut, and a vintage makeup nut, I needed this collection: a cream blush in "Evening Rose" and a lipstick in "Cherry" in gorgeous, special edition vintage Estee Lauder inspired packaging.

The lipstick is tiny, but exquisitely elegant in old-fashioned metal packaging. The color is a reddish-pink, with a shiny, slightly sheer texture (somewhat similar to a MAC Lustre finish I'd say) and the staying power was about to expected from such a texture; in other words, not great. It wore away in the center, leaving an outline around the rest of my lips. I used no lipliner because that would do no one any good.

The blush is better, I'd say. It's housed in what looks like a small vintage compact; the clasp is a lovely blue jewel. The texture is very soft, lighter than a Stila Convertible Color, for instance. I had great color payoff, for both the swatch and on my cheeks. The color is a warm rose-pink. I'd say there's the tiniest touch of coral, but the overall color is a rosy-pink. It was pretty buildable color, but blended well into the skin. I genuinely loved it, but I'm a sucker for blush, and it has pretty much everything I like in a blush.

Other products used: Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick in Porcelain, Benefit Eye Bright under the eyes, Maybelline Color Tattoo in "Bad to the Bronze" layered with both shades from NARS Kalahari duo, MAC Fluidline in Avenue, Smashbox Lash DNA Mascara, MAC Lingering Eye Brows and Brow Set in Beguile, and Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Powder. It was a quick and dirty look, so I apologize for my hair. Not that it's all that worse than usual.

Oh, and I guess if I'm going to post reviews, I should probably give the disclaimer that all products were purchased (or were a BI Perk from Sephora, like the mascara). I have received nothing from PR.