Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
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Whoa, disco lady! This is way shiny… Almost too shiny for me. Antonym Cosmetics Organic Certified Highlighting Blush in Cheek Crush ($42) is a two-for-one combo. You get a baked blush and a highlighter in one alluring pan, and, seeing as how it was made in Italy and all (the land where the best baked powders come to life), I hoped it would romance my cheeks…but alas, I just can’t hang with the intense shimmer and the limited pigment.
For some people, living on the edge means base jumping from a skyscraper, surfing 50-foot waves, or getting hitched in Vegas to the lifeguard they just met at the hotel pool five minutes ago (granted, he was hot).
My idea of life in the fast lane is trying to use a matte eyeshadow that I’ve never used before in a 10-minute makeup look…
What can I say? I GO HARD.
Sometimes this gamble doesn’t pay off, and I end up with a choppy, patchy mess. Sometimes, however, it does, like it did with Organic Eyeshadow Quattro in Noisette ($39) by Antonym Cosmetics.
If you have lined lids and/or otherwise refuse to get drawn into eye makeup drama, I think you’re gonna love this. It’s from Antonym Cosmetics, a cruelty-free, organic line from Miami that I just started wearing and loving.
(Side note: Why aren’t more makeup peeps talking bout this line? It’s still flying under the radar for now, but they recently launched on the Sephora website (that’s how I found them). I’m convinced they’re going to blow up soon because every one of their products I’ve tried so far has been profesh-caliber — like Hourglass meets NARS.)
Italy.
Land of pasta, romance, wine, George Clooney’s villa on Lake Como, and baked powder. A long time ago, someone told me that if you want the best baked powders, go to Italy, which someone at Antonym Cosmetics apparently did, because their bad-@ss $38 Baked Foundation hails from the boot,
Viva l’Italia!
I think it’s a little inaccurate, though, to call this a baked foundation. “Baked tinted moisturizer” might be more apt. First, this isn’t full coverage, and it isn’t super dense like so many other baked foundations are. The coverage is sheer but build-able up to medium, and the velvet matte finish is one of the most convincingly skin-like finishes I’ve ever seen.
Antonym Cosmetics Baked Foundation in Medium Dark ingredients
Talc, Mica, Lauroyl Lysine, Zea Mays Starch*, Squalane, Octyldodecanol, Hectorite, Water, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Benzyl Alcohol,Dehydroacetic Acid, Sorbic Acid. *Ingredient From Organic Farming (+/-) May Contain: Ci 77491 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77492 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77499 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77891 (Titanium Dioxide)
Like every powder product I’ve tried from the cruelty-free organic Antonym line so far, this is all kinds of fabulous. It’s a lot like MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, a.k.a. “The only powder I’ve worn every day for the last five years.” (It’s that serious.).
Eureka! Found another epic liner for tightlining, and it’s almost — almost — as epic as Chanel 88 Noir Intense.
Oh, and it costs 40% less ($19 vs. $33). 🙂
It’s $19 Antonym Cosmetics Noir Waterproof Eye Pencil, and the only reason I can’t completely turn my back on Chanel 88 Noir Intense is because I still like 88’s skinny twist-up tip. I think it’s better at getting down there between the lash roots than Antonym’s tip, but it’s doable as long as I keep the tip sharp.
It’s coo’.
Thankfully, the pencil comes with its own sharpener, which is handy for that.
Noir by Antonym is matte, waterproof and black — the blackest black — so there’s no blue, grey or green in it. I think it’s just about as dark as Chanel 88 Noir Intense. When it’s pressed up at the base of my lashes on my water line, my lash bed looks dense and super thick, like I’m sporting many more lashes I actually am.
It’s also long lasting on my water lines. I get a good eight hours without any fading…after it sets. *AFTER IT SETS* is key here, though, because it does take a while to completely set.
Antonym Cosmetics is the new Wet n Wild, YAY!
Wait…what?
Well, they are called Antonym, a word that means opposites, so they actually remind me of Hourglass.
They’re a five-year-old Miami-based cruelty free organic/eco-luxury makeup line (read: expensive), and their beautiful bamboo packaging and marbled powders instantly caught my eye on the Sephora website.
Unfortunately, eco-luxury usually means expensive, and it does in this case. Their Skin Esteem liquid foundation is $52 (!), but it delivers awesomeness for that price.
I’ve been wearing Tan for about a week now, and I’m into it, even if it is a tad too warm and too dark for my winter coloring (I just sheer it out). Tan is one of six satiny, mousse-y medium-coverage shades. There’s also a Nude, Beige Light, Beige Medium Light, Beige Medium and Dark, and Tan is the second from the darkest one, so the shade selection is limited.
If you like NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint, but you’ve always wanted an organic version, hello! —–> pointing right here. Give Skin Esteem a try. It has a similarly satiny, natural-looking, pore-blurring finish that elegantly evens out your skin tone all day long.
