Sunday, February 12, 2017

Absolute New York Makeup Review and Looks


Greetings, dear readers, and happy Sunday! I hope this post finds you well and you have been enjoying the weekend. I had hoped to get this up earlier, but I've been really sick, and while the fog has finally lifted so I can attempt coherent sentences, I'm definitely not even close to 100%. I'll do my best, but please pardon any grammatical errors! Now to today's post!

Earlier this month, I shared a post featuring my beauty finds from the International Salon and Spa Expo in Long Beach. One of the brands I showcased in the post was Absolute New York. I had picked up a few products to test out, and for today's blog post, I wanted to share my opinions with you. Let's jump on in!

I picked up two shades from three different lipstick formulas.  

From the Intense Lip Polish line, I picked up Cherry Bomb and Fancy Fuchsia. Can I say just how much I love these colours? These shades are so perfect for sunny days if winter ever lets up, although I have to admit it has been sunny this weekend, not that I've been able to enjoy it. These are nicely pigmented and have a thick glossy consistency. I usually am hit or miss with this type of lip product, especially since I find most to be irritatingly sticky, but I liked the consistency of these. The colour lasted quite some time on my lips as well. There was definitely colour transfer onto my tea cup, but I still had a respectable amount of colour on my lips with no reapplication needed for quite some time. I do recommend wearign lipliner with these to keep feathering off the lips under control.

The Matte Stick Lipsticks in Bulgarian Rose and Sangria are nice, but I wouldn't say they are a full "matte" look, especially since there are other true matte lip products on the market. The lipsticks are a little on the firmer side, but they still apply easily and leave a demi-matte look on the lips. They also had surprising lasting power on the lips as well. I'm personally not fond of the flat appearance of most matte lip products, so I'm happy to see these have just a the tiniest whisper of glossiness to give them a little more dimension.

I also picked up Gorgeous and Gypsy from the Ultra Slick Lipstick lineup although I'm not sure why the line isn't showing up on their website. I loved the creaminess and colour of these, but to be honest, I wish I looked at the names prior to purchasing them. This is a beauty blog so I don't wish to get into semantics, but "gyspy" is a derogatory slur, and I would have picked up another shade had I realized the name earlier.


Another item I picked up to test was the Icon Palette in Smoked. This palette comes with 12 sultry shades to create your perfect smokey eye, a very large mirror, and a dual-ended eyeshadow brush. The first thing I noticed when I bought this palette was the name of the palette is not actually on the casing anywhere. I was able to ensure I picked up the correct palette by the item number on it, but I have this odd need to have the official name imprinted somewhere on the item if there is an official name rather than a long serial number. It's totally petty, I know, but I like being able to refer to the names in the future, and let's be honest- I have enough makeup I'm not always the best at keeping the palette names stuck in my head. I don't think this should sway your opinions on this palette, but it really bugs me so I'm just putting it out there for those that share my in my neurosis. 


I used my fingers to create these swatches on my arm. These colours are have some serious pigmentation! While they went on pretty easily with my finger, I'm going to be brutally honest here and say the dual-ended brush is garbage. Don't get me wrong, I didn't expect to be "wowed" by a brush that came in a 12-shadow palette for only $15, but this brush is just that bad, and there is no way I can sugar coat it to make it sound less bad. It didn't pick up the shadows well and was just more coarse than I would like for the delicate eye area. The tapered end was exceptionally firm, far more so than I find necessary for an eyeshadow brush, and the blending end just made my eyes itch without any sign of blending. Seriously, you don't want to relie on this brush to apply these shadows.

As for the eyeshadows themselves, I'm still not entirely sure how I would rate them. They are pigmented for sure, and I love that part! The colours stayed on my eyelids all day long and there was very minimal fallout in application. That being said, there is a very big BUT..... these do not blend easily at all and look patchy on the eyelids without it. I gave up using the poor quality brush they included in this palette, and even using my beloved eyeshadow brushes, I had a very difficult time getting these shadows to play nicely for me. I easily spent twice the amount of time working on my eye looks with this palette (which are a little further down in this post) to get a decent looking blend I was comfortable wearing outside the house. If you are an eyeshadow "dabber" that just pops on the colour here and there to create a look, I think you'd be happy overall with this palette. If you have any desire to blend, this palette will test your patience and make you want to throw it in the trash. I'm holding onto this one since it seems to work well for me in lieu of traditional eyeliners, but I don't think I have the fortitude to use it as eyeshadow again and have the restraint to not toss it in the garbage bin.


The final product I picked up to test was the Illuminating 3D Liquid Highlighter in Spotlight! I am definitely a powder girl when it comes to highligher, but the beautiful pearlescent shimmer of Spotlight! caught my attention and I had to give it a try. It is a beautiful colour, and I love the touch of reflection on my face when applied lightly. I found this shade to be a little too light for me to be comfortable wearing more than just the lightest dab, but there is no denying how lovely this illuminator is on the face! Absolute New York does have a darker shade named Afterglow, but I found it to look too dark for me at the show so I passed on it. I do like the look and softness of Spotlight! so I'll just use it sparingly and have it last a long time.

Now for the looks I created using these products!


Eyeshadows used: Baby Blanc, Heather, Debutante, Mocha, and Truffle

Matte Stick: Sangria

Eyeshadows used: Haze, Static, Stormy, Heartache, Crater, and LBD 


Intense Lip Polish: Fancy Fuchsia


I had hoped to have more looks for this post, but after fighting so much with the eyeshadows and then getting sick, I'm afraid this is all I have to today's post. Hopefully it is still helpful for you if you are thinking of trying out this brand! 


Have you tried any products from Absolute New York? If so, what have you liked? Are there any you recommend I try or stay away from? I'd love to hear from you!

Now I'm off to get some rest! Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day!
XO!


Helpful Links
Store: www.absolutenewyork.com
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8 comments

  1. Those eye looks are amazing! the colors in the palette are right up my alley. I am such a love of soft neutrals and metallic colors. <3

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  2. I've never heard of this brand! I immediately liked sangria and I love it on you! It's not a true matte but I still like the payoff.

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  3. Love Smokey eye shadows and it looks stunning on you. Awesome items and post :)

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  4. The lip polishes would be my pick! Even if you had trouble blending, I love both the looks you created and would never have known there was a problem - you made the eyeshadow work perfectly.

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  5. I love the looks you did with this stuff! Bright pinks are one of my favorites to wear, so I love Fancy Fuchsia.

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  6. I love the looks that you have created! I hope you feel 100% soon!

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  7. You are all kinds of gorgeous, I love a hot pink lip on you!!

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  8. I love the eye shadow palette!!! Your looks are simply flawless!!! Much love!!

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