Stuff I've Used Up! Super Mega Empties Post: Skincare and Makeup

This is a pretty major empties post, because the last time I blogged about my empties was half a year ago in December last year (it was also a pretty large post, that I split into two parts, part 1 and part 2). This time around, I have even more stuff!

The nice thing about empties is that, for me, using a product up comes with a sense of accomplishment (as in, hey, I actually stuck to something long enough to use it up!) and also a sense of permission (as in, hey, I've used up a lipstick, now I can buy another lipstick)! So for a beauty junkie like me, it's both gratifying and enabling!



Obviously, there's a lot to go through, so without further ado, let's jump right in!

Laneige Two Tone Shadow Bar and Lip Bar Swatches and First Impressions

Laneige recently released their Two Tone Collection, consisting of 4 shades of Two Tone Shadow Bar and Two Tone Lip Bar. If this sounds familiar it's because these are an extension of the existing Two Tone Lip Bar shades (which I've previously swatched here), so essentially, this is an addition of 4 more Two Tone Lip Bar shades, as well as 4 Two Tone Shadow Bar shades. The "Shadow Bar" concept is new, but basically pretty much similar to the Lip Bar except for eyes, and is intended to give a nice gradient effect on eyes.

At a recent event, I was able to get a chance to swatch the new Two Tone Shadow Bars and Two Tone Lip Bars, so without further ado, let's get to the swatches, along with my commentary and first impressions! These are actually in natural daylight, so they should be pretty colour-accurate, hopefully!

MAC Flamingo Park Swatches and First Impression

The MAC Flamingo Park Collection is the brand's first Spring 2016 makeup launch, and it was recently launched here. I happened to be at the store during the launch, and I managed to get swatches of the products for you! It was quite an ordeal swatching the products, because it was very crowded in the store, with people buzzing around and swarming around the collection testers, so I'm happy to have swatched everything I could!

MAC Flamingo Park Collection

But before we move on to the swatches proper, I'd like to mention that the lighting in the swatches might be a bit lacking due to the fact that these were all swatched in-store.

Also, as you can see from the above photo of the Flamingo Park setup, it seems like for some reason the collection differs slightly here in Singapore. Not all the "official USA" shades were displayed in the Flamingo Park Collection display, and some permanent shades were put in the display as part of the Flamingo Park Collection although they didn't appear in the US version of the shade lineup. I'm not too sure why this is the case, but in any case, I've just done my best to swatch everything that was on display, so any incongruency with what was launched in the US is just due to whatever was in the display in the store.

Too Faced Christmas in Paris Swatches and First Impressions

Too Faced's Christmas in Paris Collection is quite hotly anticipated, and after previously bringing you swatches of the Le Grand Palais set, I've decided to (finally!) post the rest of the swatches! Better late than never, right?

Too Faced Christmas in Paris: A holiday collection that looks super festive!

The Holiday 2015 items I have here are the Melted Kisses and Sweet Cheeks set, the Le Petit Tresor set, and the French Kisses melted set. Most of these sets consist of existing shades from Too Faced's permanent collection, so I guess if you're already familiar with the shade range these swatches may not excite you as much, although the Le Petit Tresor set does contain one exclusive shade.


Too Faced Christmas in Paris: Sets featuring some of their most popular products
As with the Le Grand Palais swatches, I also took these photos indoors at a restaurant, and was multi-tasking (eating while swatching makeup is fun, but not easy), so pardon any less-than-perfect swatching! I hope these swatches help, however!

Givenchy Le Rouge A Porter Swatches and Quick Impressions

Givenchy's Le Rouge A Porter Lipstick range has just launched in Singapore earlier this week, and of course I had to swatch them for you! These are a different range from Givenchy's current Le Rouge lipsticks, although Le Rouge A Porter is also clad in ultra-luxe leather. The main differences between Le Rouge and Le Rouge A Porter is that Le Rouge is more pigmented, has a more matte finish, and the tube itself is shorter and chubbier. Le Rouge A Porter, on the other hand, has sheer pigmentation (although you can build it up somewhat), has a shiny, glossy finish, and the tube is very slim and sleek.

Givenchy Le Rouge A Porter: 16 shades of the new lipstick range

The Le Rouge A Porter lipsticks are supposed to also be moisturizing and hydrating to lips - at the event the lipstick was described to me as being a cross between a lipstick and a lipbalm. I was also told that you don't need any lip primer with this product, as it doesn't sink into fine lines or seep out of lip lines. There are 16 shades of Le Rouge A Porter.

Givenchy Le Rouge A Porter: The actual lipstick bullet, encased in genuine leather

If you're wondering, the testers at the display sets are somewhat different from the actual lipstick tube. For one, the actual lipstick itself is encased in leather, with silver metal trim. The testers are encased in plastic (made to look texturized like leather) and have red plastic trim. For those curious, above is a shot of an actual lipstick.

Anyway, enough with the preamble. Without further ado, here are the swatches!