Beauty Product Reviews
Virgin Pressed Powder; A favorite in my kit
I have been an avid user of Manic Panic for a good 3 years now & have used quite a few of there makeup products with rather wonderful results but I have to say that out of all of all of the companies cosmetics the crown jewel is there pressed powders. I have gone through about 3 copies of the Virgin snow (both for personal & professional use) and 1 copy of moonlight/ vampires veil and I have to say both are amazing products.
Virgin snow is a pure white; not translucent, not sheer, just paper white. The good thing about it is that it can be used lightly either as a matte highlighting powder to add dimension to the face or you could layer on the powder and use it to achieve that flawless gothic complexion. It goes on thicker under a foundation or concealer but I enjoy using it as a matte white eyeshadow for various looks.
The Vampires Veil is just the perfect shade of foundation for my skin tone; it's just a shade lighter which I can use to cover up slight blotches and redder areas or I can use it all over to create a more naturally pale complexion, and both paired together can create a long lasting dynamic skin base using the vampires veil as an overall and the virgin compact as a highlighting powder.
Overall the Compacts will last quite a long time depending on how often you use it. I use mine at least once or twice a week just on myself and I've had it for a little under a year now & haven't hit pan yet. The product is some of the smoothest pressed powder I've tried or even sampled and it comes with a great sponge powder puff that is great for packing it on or touching up through out the day.The price can sometimes be a bit high (sometimes around $15.00 USD for a single pan) but it's worth it and definitely one of the best white powders on the market *a photo of a face I used the "moonlight"powder on, paired with a foundation that was about 1 shade lighter and dusted with a light coat of "virgin" to give it a natural pale look
From Daytime to Daring- This Pallet can do it all
I was not quite as excited about getting this product (I tend to buy colors that can be a bit hard to find) but I noticed that I needed to get some more neutrals in my collection asap. So I got this one because it looked like it had a great range of neutral shades (brown, bronze, silvers, golds, etc.) while having some very nice rich purple and red shades that I was looking for. I got it in the mail a week or so later and I've had it for about a month now & all I can say is this pallet is a keeper. The colors come out rather smooth & can be blended smoothly or packed on to give a punch of color. You get a range of consistencies from matte, satin, metallic and even some shimmer/glitter colors that are great for a super statement. Another bonus is they updated the case & added a button latch to keep it from opening, an indent on the side and on both sides of the bans for getting the pans out or positioning them differently, and a good sized mirror to the top for ease when applying. A few personal favorites are the shimmering white, silver & lilac shades which come out amazingly; all of the reds and the plummy & deeper purple colors which can be used for a work look or a night out look. Overall I love this & think it will be a key in my kit as well as a great gift for a few friends this holiday season; especially since I only paid $12.00 for it
*the photo beneath shows the packaging it was in along with some of the other products I had bought from them the same time
From Daytime to Daring- This Pallet can do it all
I was not quite as excited about getting this product (I tend to buy colors that can be a bit hard to find) but I noticed that I needed to get some more neutrals in my collection asap. So I got this one because it looked like it had a great range of neutral shades (brown, bronze, silvers, golds, etc.) while having some very nice rich purple and red shades that I was looking for. I got it in the mail a week or so later and I've had it for about a month now & all I can say is this pallet is a keeper. The colors come out rather smooth & can be blended smoothly or packed on to give a punch of color. You get a range of consistencies from matte, satin, metallic and even some shimmer/glitter colors that are great for a super statement. Another bonus is they updated the case & added a button latch to keep it from opening, an indent on the side and on both sides of the bans for getting the pans out or positioning them differently, and a good sized mirror to the top for ease when applying. A few personal favorites are the shimmering white, silver & lilac shades which come out amazingly; all of the reds and the plummy & deeper purple colors which can be used for a work look or a night out look. Overall I love this & think it will be a key in my kit as well as a great gift for a few friends this holiday season; especially since I only paid $12.00 for it
*the photo beneath shows the packaging it was in along with some of the other products I had bought from them the same time
A Great Must have for all MUA's or Beauty Junkies
I have to say that this was not a product that I was planing on buying this product, but quickly changed my mind when I noticed that my kit was seriously lacking in the skin powders. Shipping took about a week which was standard for a CA to MA delivery and the packaging was exceptional as always (I don't remember the exact date but it came around late 2012) and nothing was broken or damaged. All I can say is I love this product. I love the size of the pans; it's perfect for all brush sizes even massively fluffy powder brushes and the powder comes out even & smooth. I will admit it works better over liquid foundations or concealers but works great as a light coverage too. My favorites are the matte white powder and the warmer beige powders; the warm beige is great for blending & covering areas of skin that can be a little rosy or acne prone. The White is a favorite for achieving that perfect illusion of high cheekbones or contoured skin; and for a more dramatic effect that perfectly pale and flawless gothic complexion. The Brown shade is great for contouring the hollows of the cheeks and the jawline (if your into that) and other areas of the face. I haven't really used the pink blush colors but they work well. Overall this is a great product to have. The price was around $10-$20 (depending on when it was on sale) and I have only just begun to hit pan on the white & that is because I use it almost every time I want my pale complexion (which is about 2-3 times a week) and the white powder only come second to manic panics "Virgin" pressed powder. I have used this pallet countless times to define features for film & photo shoots and it has lasted under hot lights, hot days & sometimes even in rain. Great for the MUA who is on set or just a makeup junkie, but a bit too big for on the go.
Black Lace - Not a bad black but the price is a bit of a sting
I was given a gift card for my graduation from a friend & I had been meaning to try some of there products & I was looking to build my own collection of makeup for my own personal use so I don't have to go through my gigantic kit & mess everything up every other day. Any who I went to the store & the only true shade of matte black was "black lace" & for 13 bucks it wasn't too bad of a price. I tried it at the store on my bare hand & it wasn't bad so I decided to get it. I tried applying it wet to see if it would be better pigmented. It came out more evenly but was a dark charcoal grey tone rather than a jet black. I also tried it with an eyeshadow primer & had the same results. It's not a bad product but it's a bit of a let down; for that price I would have gotten M.A.C's Carbon eyeshadow for a true black
Quiet possabily my favorite pallet
This is an amazing product and for such a low price I think that all makeup artists or just people who like to play around with makeup should have this. It has a lot of pastel to high value colors in the top pan that come in a good amount of color's (red, purple, green, blue, orange and yellow/gold) which is nice but I really love the bottom pan. The bottom consists of a rather nice amount of neutral shades as well as darkened shades which is what really drew me to this pallet. One of my favorite shades is this shimmery burgondy color (that is kind of similar to MAC's Beauty Marked) if you use there gel eyeliner in burn underneith it you get a beautiful dark glittery ruby color. All of these colors come out amazingly especially the black which comes out hell black and not some sort of gun metal grey shade. I LOVE THIS PALLET
Dried Out! I think not, this product is amazing
I was very interested to try these due to the fact that there's such a wide color range. I've really loved the pallet's I've gotten from them so I was expecting them to be quality products and I wasn't disappointed. I received a majority of them a week and a half before Christmas and none of them have dried out nor did they arrive dried out. The color payoff is amazing and it last for age's. I also love it because it's super creamy and easy to control. In my humble opinion these gel eyeliners are even better then Maybelline's eye studio gel liners because there is a wider range of color, better staying power and better consistency. I have 9 colors and all of them are amazing Onyx- An Opaque Super Dark matte black perfect for that super dramatic eyeliner Ultra Violet- In the pot it look's almost like a black but when applied comes out a super pigmented matte purple color Atlantic- A highly saturated matte cool blue Blow- a warm shimmery pink, it goes on a bit on the sheer side but when you put an eyeshadow over it you can see the difference Burn- a slightly shimmery red; it can be a great base for matte red's too because the shimmer isn't so overpowering Bronzed- A beautiful metalic gold color Fresh- A metallic sea foam green Metal- A light warm metallic silver Cement- A matte medium grey All of these are great bases for eye shadows to give them that extra umph t get them to a really nice pigmented long lasting finish
Dark Purple- Amazing Quality And An Even Bigger Steal
This shade is amazing and is one of my favorites for a good many reasons. The Color Payoff is Amazing; it is a satin lipstick but the color is not sheer or overly glossy. I love the shade, It's a great gothy color but can also be used as a base for other colors you want to darken up. The price of this is around $6- $8. The Main reason why I love this is because it is it is a perfect copy of MAC's Cyber lipstick. The colors and textures match up almost perfectly; Cyber is a little bit darker but considering the price for a MAC lipstick this one takes the cake for me. I LOVE IT!
Ultra Violet, The Name Doesn't Lie
I've used this shade constantly for about 8 months; I dye my bangs with this color ( I have a really long devil-lock that goes down to my chin). This is by far my favorite purple hair color, other purples are either too dull, come out pink or an orchid color. You get 4oz. of Product in one bottle unless you get one of there salon bottles which is 8oz. The color of the product is exactly what the name entails; ultra violet- a very cool shade of purple. The color comes out super vibrant and true to tone if you take a couple extra steps to ensure color payoff. 1. I don't recommend putting it on bleached hair alone use either a lilac toner or tint/ color your hair either pink or red before you put the purple in. Most bleaches come out yellow which when you use the dye it will come out more of a blue shade because yellow and purple are opposing colors and do not mix. the toner will make it true to color, the red or pink will make it more of a neutral purple. 2. Keep color in for a LONG time. The longer you leave the color is in your hair the more vibrant and true to color and the follicle will keep the color in longer. I usually keep mine in for 5+ hours; don't worry about damage this is a conditioning formula it won't kill your hair. 3. Use a blow dryer while coloring hair, it gets the color deeper into the follicle and the color will last longer. 4. Use a color protective shampoo the color will last so much longer then if you washed your hair with just regular shampoo. 5. Your hair will fade to white and a sort of icy blue. I reapply this color with a bit of cotton candy pink to counteract the blue. These steps will help you achieve and maintain purple hair
Not Worth It
This product was bought with high hopes. I really enjoy the Milani lip colors and I decided to get this small purple eyeshadow palette. Let me tell you right now DON'T BOTHER. It was a bit pricey for only a six color palette and I found that the shadows were placed in horizontal lines instead of circles or squares. It stated that use dry for a subtle look and wet for added drama. To start with the color was a bit awkward to get on a brush. I tried it dry and you could barely even see the colors except for the darkest one and even that came out duller than expected. So I decided to try them wet and there wasn't that much difference; the color was a bit more vibrant but not what I was expecting. I tried a couple different methods (eye shadow primer, cream's, etc.) with similar results. And to add insult to injury the shadows are extremely sensitive; mine fell off of my table and onto a chair and it broke into a million pieces.The only redeemable quality was that it blended rather well.
I would not buy this product again