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FCH Review Round-up: Stila ~ the Kitten collection

Review Round-up: Stila ~ Kitten

Completely unrelated to M Lab is this next item: kitten. I like kittens. I really, really like kittens, in fact, and I think that anyone who doesn't care for kittens must be deranged. I have the same philosophy about anyone who doesn't like bacon. But kittens and kitten are not the same thing, and I am really pretty lukewarm on the latter.

Kitten is the name of one of Stila's best-selling eyeshadows. It's a "shimmery nude pink" frost, and the way some people talk about it there's never been another eyeshadow made in the world! As far as that goes, there are a few other Stila shadows I like better, and certainly a few over at the MAC Urban Decay and NARs counters!

Stila based two new products on the popularity of this shadow, kitten, and since much of my issue with kitten is the texture, I thought I'd check these out as other options. The first kitten spin-off is the silk eye shadow wash, a long-wearing, lightweight, liquid-to-powder version of the gold-pink Kitten shade. The second spin-off product in this litter is silk shimmer gloss, a lipgloss with silk proteins and ulta-fine shimmer that gives that lovely warm pink kitten-esque look.

The Verdict: I was quite interested in silk eye shadow wash, since I like cream shadows and because the only thing that keeps me from being a kitten fanatic is the texture of the shadow. When it comes to cream shadows, I tend to dislike them when they're coming out of a tube and applied with a sponge-tipped applicator (that's how I like my lipglosses, not my shadows!). This is no exception! I find that I have to sploosh the applicator (a technical makeup artist term, "sploosh") around the eye then smooth it out with my finger. That sucks. The color is nice, though, if a bit frosty. I'm over the shimmer highlighter under the brow arch, but if you're not this will work well there. It's also a decent base for shadow, since it doesn't crease too much once you spread it out. I find it feels a bit heavy on the eye, though, and that's not cool. This shade would probably pop on medium-toned skin.

As for silk shimmer gloss, this was a complete waste of money (I did pay for this one myself - and then returned it). It's sheer and it's faint and the shimmer is negligible. Why put on a $22 lipgloss if it's going to barely be noticeable and then fade off before you're even out the door? I take my lipglosses very seriously, and this one just pissed me off. All-in-all: a dud.

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Read the other posts in the Round-up:

• FCH Review Round-up
• Whish Shave Crave

• Olay Difinity line

• Clinque ~ Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief
• M Lab Skincare
• Stila ~ The Kitten collection
• Bobbi Brown ~ Almost Bare
• Clinique ~ Even Better Skintone Correcter
• Clinique ~ Superbalm Moisturizing Lipgloss
• Sally Hansen ~ Lip Fix Lip Repair

MAC News, courtesy of Specktra.net and other sources

The gorgeous lassies and lads at Specktra.net have been posting away, letting us know about the upcoming collections at MAC. I've been waiting a bit to show you what's coming up, 'cause the collections don't release 'til next week or a few weeks thereafter, but I wanted you to have time to plan so today's the day!

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Naughty Nauticals, May:

A great seafaring collection, this is the big Summer releases typical in May. It includes the mandatory "let's pretend we sell bronzers" selection - and beware: it apparently is a bit better than last year's offering, but still isn't waterproof and still may transfer onto white/light clothing. Grrr...

Details provided by Specktra.net, of course. Read more here/color story, here/discussion, and here/swatches. Some of the swatches are amazing!

See some great pics of the promotional collateral for this collection here at Specktra.net.

Lipsticks $14.00USD

Ahoy, There! - (Lustre) (LE) ~ the nude
Buoy-O-Buoy - (Glaze) (LE) ~the pink
Port Red - (Frost) (LE) ~ the plum
Party Mate - (Lustre) (LE) ~ the red

Lustreglasses $14.00USD

Bateaux (LE) ~ the nude
Ensign (LE) ~the pink
Hey Sailor (LE) ~ the plum
Love Knot (LE) ~ the red

Eyeshadow $14.00USD

Meet the Fleet - (Matte) (LE)
Illegal Cargo - (Frost) (LE)
Pandamonium - (Lustre) Smoky Grey with silver pearlized pigments (LE) (Repromote from       Pandamonium Eyes in Balloonacy)
Submarine - (Frost) (LE)
Shore Leave - (Veluxe Pearl) (LE)

Pigments $19.50USD

Lovely Lily - (Frost) Lilac with red pearl (LE)(Repromote from Lingerie)
Bell Bottom Blue (Frost)
Larkabout (Frost)
Wave (Frost)

Techakohl Liner $14.50USD

Smoothblue- Ocean blue with frost (Repromote)-
Greyprint- Rich pewter grey with frost (Repromote)

Mascara

Prolash in Coal Black - Lengthening, thickening, non-flaking, non-smudging.

Nail Lacquer $10.00USD

Naughty Nautical - (Frost) Dark royal navy blue (LE)
Shirelle - (Cream) Classic she's a dame red (Repromote)

This collection includes a Nordstrom exclusive quad: Stowaways.

Awash (Frost) - Lightest tan off white with gold and pink pearl (LE)
Crest the Wave (Frost) - Light, frosty yellow with yellow and white pearl (LE)
Satin Taupe (Frost) - Taupe brown with silvery bronze shimmer (Repromote)
Sea-Cadet (Satin) - Grayed dark navy blue (LE)

See swatches here on Specktra.net.

The Skinsheen portion of the collection is the "let's pretend we're tan" part:

Skinsheen Leg Spray $22.50USD - A sprayable, light weight gel formula that provides a sheer wash of colour and glow to the legs. (LE)

Medium - Soft golden caramel with soft gold nuances ~ International only

Medium Dark - Soft bronze with golden tan pearl

Dark

Deep Dark ~ North America only

 

Body Buffer Brush $52.00USD

#179 - A short handled brush with large, flat, circular shaped top for efficient distribution of body makeup. Recommended for smooth application of Sundressing and other powder products. 6.5 cm long. (Repromote)

Specktra's Skinsheen discussion  and Swatches.

 

FCH must-haves for Naughty Nauticals: Larkabout, Illegal Cargo, Mutiny, and Bell Bottom Blue. I'm a pigment whore. :(

 

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Tendertones, end of May:

I loved Tendertones right from "go!". I thought the scent was incredible (kiwi and strawberry) and the color payoff was great, too, 'cause it was just so light and sheer. Doubters abounded, though, and I had a hard time selling the green one last year (fools, you!). So, according to Specktra.net and members mezzamy and Erine1881, here's the new Tendertones scoop:

 

Deep Sigh | Sheer bronze with red pearl (LE) (Repromote)

 

Pucker | Sheer raspberry pink (LE) (Repromote)

Sweet Tooth | Sheer coral w/ white pearlized pigments(LE)

Take a Hint | Sheer intense mid-tone pink (LE) (Repromote)

 

Hush Hush | Sheer peach with gold pearl (LE) (Repromote)

Hot n’ Saucy | Soft cherry red (LE)

Tread Gently | Soft lime green w/ yellow pearlized pigments (LE)

Honey Bare | sheer peach w/white pearlized pigments (LE)

E-Z Baby | Sheer milky pink (LE)

Sweet & Nice | Sheer red grape w/ red pearlized pigments (LE)

PS: Read the Specktra.net page carefully and you'll see that the rumor mill says we may see Tendertones as permanent additions to the Pro collection at some point. YAY!

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I'm not so sure about scented mascara...

What about you? That just freaks me out. Scented mascara?

What on earth am I on about, you ask? Take a look:

Thoughts?