Revlon Colorburst: Unapologetic & Enticing

I'm a huge fan of Revlon's Lip Butters (which are also part of the Colorburst family), so you can imagine how excited I was to finally see this display at my local Rite Aid last week!

This new collection features two finishes: Lacquer and Matte! The 10 Matte shades come in matte packaging and the 10 Lacquer shades come in shiny packaging. Believe it or not, this actually took me a minute to figure out because the shades were all out of place in the display....I know, no excuse. Brain fart moment for sure! As you can tell by the picture, the matte shades seem to be very popular because there are only 3 left compared to the reasonable amount of Lacquer colors available.

I only picked up one from each section to see if I liked them before going crazy and buying everything. (Who am I kidding though, I know it's the inevitable ending) Anyways, without further ado, here are some photos!

I picked up the matte shade in Unapologetic and the lacquer shade in Enticing. The balms are sealed by a clear sticker which is a nice effort, but it doesn't really prevent tampering with.

Unapologetic

I found the formula of this balm to be very smooth but also quite slippery. The texture kind of reminds me of NXY's soft matte lip cream's. Although smooth, the almost whipped/butter cream consistency can be patchy and not flattering on dry lips. Definitely exfoliate!

Enticing

I loved the formula of this one! Super smooth, shiny, and the consistency has a bit of tack to it. They aren't sticky at all but they have a really nice feel to them. Super shiny but not greasy at all. It reminded me a lot of Urban Decay's Super Saturated High Gloss lip color. 

Other things to note:

Scent: Subtle minty scent

Packaging: Exactly like Revlon's Kissable balms- twist up tube, no sharpener

Lasting Power: These are not long lasting at all. I would say 2-3 hours if you aren't eating and drinking and much less than that if you are. They also will transfer so that's something to keep in mind.

Both finishes are very pigmented and there are great color choices from both lines. I have to say that I really love the lacquer line and prefer that over the matte line based on formula. I didn't see anything mentioned that these were limited edition, so I'm excited that these will most likely be permanent items!

OCC Lip Tar 2.0 Review & Swatches!

I cannot believe it has taken me this long to try Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars, but better late then never right?!

I purchased these from Sephora a few months ago but you can also purchase them from the OCC site. They run $18 a pop so it's definitely worth purchasing the sets at Sephora that go for $49 for 5 (and a lip brush is included). There are 3 different sets to choose from, but today I will be talking about the 2.0 set.

If you are a makeup addict, you already know what these are but for the newbies out there, these are described as super pigmented and long lasting matte lipsticks. They not only can be worn alone, but they can be mixed to create custom colors. They are also Paraben-free and 100% vegan and cruelty free.

After hearing rave reviews for years, I was really excited to try these out! So were they just as amazing as everyone had said they were?

OPI: Rock Goddess Review & Swatches!

This month OPI has released their Halloween 2013 limited edition mini nail lacquer set. The set includes four rocker-inspired mini nail lacquers and an adjustable skull bracelet. The set retails for $12.95 at Ulta but I have seen varying prices online.

First, I must thank my friend who got this for me. As a polish addict, I could never have too much and a friend that supports my addiction is a keeper, if I do say so myself! Ok, now on to the review and swatches!

Wet n Wild: Mega Last Lip Color vs Fergie Center Stage Collection Lip Color

So similar and yet slightly different. That's exactly how I would compare Wet n Wild's Mega Last Lip Color line to Fergie's Center Stage Lip Color Line.

Similarities

Lipstick shape- Both are round instead of the traditional lipstick shape that comes to a point

Packaging- Both tubes are made of plastic with clear plastic caps that snap on

*I believe both have the same amount of product- .11oz (but not 100% sure)*

Differences

Size of packaging- Fergie collection is taller, but I believe both carry the same amount of product

Formula/Finish- Fergie collection is a bit creamier/hydrating and has a bit more of a shine finish. This is a subtle difference but I did notice a little more ease when applying the Fergie line lipsticks.

L-Mega Last              R-Fergie Collection

Price- Mega Last is $1.99 and Fergie Collection is $3.99

Color Selection: The Mega Last line offers 26 colors and the Fergie line offers 10 colors.

Final Thoughts

These lipsticks are almost identical products aside from it's exterior packaging. I do think the Fergie collection has a slightly more hydrating formula which is nice. I don't know if it justifies a price difference though, as it is just slightly more smooth. I think the price difference has to do more with packaging costs and the fact that it's a celeb branded line. Eitherway, both lines of lipsticks are wonderful! They both offer great pigmentation, last for hours, and are very affordable! The Mega Last line has more colors to choose from compared to the Fergie line, but the Fergie line does offer shades that are different. With that being said though, I purposely used the 2 colors above to show you the 2 lipsticks that I thought were the most similar between the lines. If you own one of those, you could skip on the other. 

*Direct shopping links provided via ShopSense*

Wet n Wild Haul with Swatches!

Last week Wet n Wild was 40% off at Walgreens and Rite Aid, so naturally this happened:

I'm a big fan of Wet n Wild's megalast polishes and lipsticks and at 40% off, saying they are a steal is an understatement! I've also never tried anything from the Fergie line aside from the polishes, so I picked up a few of her lipsticks as well.

NYX: Xtreme Lip Cream

I had mentioned these lippies in my last post and realized I have never reviewed or posted swatches of them yet. NYX lip products are some of my absolute favorites and these Xtreme Lip Creams are another great addition to that category!

These Xtreme Lip Creams fall into the lipstick/lipgloss hybrid category. I love these kinds of lip products because not only are they a time saver, they are so convenient! It's nice to only have to bring one lip product with you instead of a couple (definitely not trying to add to the madness that is my make up bag). Oh and the pigmentation of these Xtreme Lip Cream's...amazing! As I mentioned in my last review, these are very similar to Rimmel's Show Off Lip Lacquers as far as consistency. They are a bit drier in formula and a little less shiny than the Rimmel Show Off's but that's being super technical and it's nothing overly obvious. If you have tried NYX's soft matte creams, they are a bit thicker in formula and more hydrating. They are definitely very comfortable on the lips and last for at least 3-4 hours on me.

The only major negative to them is the scent. If plastic & play-doh were a desirable scent, then NYX totally nailed it. Unfortunately, I don't know many people that look for that scent in a lip product, I know I sure don't. The good news is the scent isn't really noticeable once the product is applied. Thank Goodness.

Rimmel: Show Off Lip Lacquer Celestial & Luna

Finally! I got my hands on the long awaited Apocalips by Rimmel! I was a little disappointed that they changed the name for the US release...Apocalips is so much better than Show Off Lip Lacquer. Not sure why the name was changed...are you trying to tell us something Rimmel? Are we Americans not worthy of a cool lipgloss name?! Well, we did get 14 shades whereas the UK only have 8, so that's pretty awesome...I guess all is forgiven.

Anyways, I've been waiting for months for these bad boys to make an appearance here in the U.S. and I was at my Walgreens as soon as I heard they had arrived. To my dismay, not only were a lot of the colors sold out, the ones left over had been opened. So annoying.

There is a seal on the product but like most drugstore makeup, a little clear sticker doesn't prevent tampering. If you aren't familiar with this product, there is a way to tell if the applicator has been pulled out all the way or not.

From L-R: If the center section is clear like the photo on the left, then the applicator has not been pulled out of the tube. Regardless if the seal is broken, if you see a clear section, that means no one has pulled the applicator out yet. The photo in the middle shows the applicator about to be pulled out. You can see the color start to fill the section. The photo on the far right is what happens as the applicator is being taken completely out of the tube. If you see a gloss that has a center section filled with product, then you know someone has pulled the entire applicator out.

After searching forever for just one gloss that hadn't been tampered with, I was eventually able to get my hands on Celestial and Luna. There were shimmer shades but I was only interested in the creme finishes. Though these weren't my top picks, they were new and sealed and that's all that mattered to me!

Review: Maybelline Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation

I think the last time I tried a stick foundation I was in highschool...and that was ages ago. It was a Clinique or Estee Lauder one, and I hated it. Fast forward to today, and stick foundations have caught my attention again, but this time at the drugstore.

Ooo...foundation in stick form and shine free...this sounds convenient!

Picking out a shade was a little difficult because there's a number sticker on the top of the cap that obstructs your view a bit. Yes, there's the big ass color wheel but the foundations weren't exactly the color of the display.

The main thing you will notice is the different color core in the middle of the stick. Some were more pink and some more yellow. I noticed that the shade I thought would match me best had a pink core so I had to focus only on the shades that had the more yellow core.

I purchased Shade 310- Sun Beige (which turned out to be a good match) and for reference again, I'm an NC35 at MAC. I paid $8.99 for .32 oz at Walgreens but I know Target sells it for $6.99. Eitherway, it's a very affordable foundation coming in at under $10.

It's about the size of a lipstick but a bit wider which makes it really convenient for on-the-go.

I do appreciate that the sticks are sealed but just like lipsticks, the seals can be broken extremely easily. When the cap is shut, you can't tell the seal is broken with a quick glance. I always pull the cap just a bit to see if the seal has already been broken or not.

Olay: Fresh Effects BB Cream

I received Olay's Fresh Effects BB Cream complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster (post coming soon on Influenster if you don't know what I'm talking about). I was excited to receive this product because Olay is one of my favorite drugstore brands.

This BB cream retails for around $12.99 and comes in 2 shades: Fair/Light and Light/Medium. I'm about an NC35 and I can kind of get away with Light/Medium but I definitely think there should be darker shade options. This product has an SPF 15 which is nice but it's not water resistant so it's not meant to be used in place of a sunscreen for swimming or outdoor activities that may cause sweating.

*You can visit OlayFreshEffects.com or Amazon for purchase info*

It comes with 2.5 fl oz. of product which is a decent amount of product. According to the description sent to me, this product claims to provide:
"24-hr hydration and a splash of sheer color. This all-in-one skin perfecter, sunscreen, and tinted moisturizer evens skin tone and refreshes the dullness, for flawless looking skin."


In general, I'm not a big fan of BB creams because I personally need more coverage. I envy those who can get away with a little tinted moisturizer and be on their way.

NYX Round Lipstick

I noticed I had acquired quite the collection of NYX round lipsticks, so I thought I'd share some swatches and a quick review for those out there looking to try these or add to their collection. I only own 21 shades out of the line and I say only because there's 124 to choose from! If there was an award for creating the most variations of a color...NYX would win, hands down.

These lipsticks are super affordable at $4 each on the NYX Cosmetics site, and you can find them even cheaper on sites like cherryculture.com and Ulta. They claim to be a velvet texture lipstick that resists smudging...the velvet texture maybe but resists smudging? NO. I find these lipsticks to be a very creamy formula which is nice because they are moisturizing to the lips. However, the creamy formula also contributes to the product sliding a bit so I'm not sure what they mean by resists smudging. Last time I accidentally swiped my hand over my lips, I was rocking lipstick on my face...not cool. Although I don't agree with the smudge proof claim, these are great lipsticks (Just don't swipe your hand over your lips and face). They are creamy, not heavy or thick on the lips, color range is great, super pigmented, no noticeable scent, and very affordable. I also love the packaging because the actual color of the lipstick is visible at the bottom of the tube. This is great not only when you are buying these in person but also when I'm storing them upside down. I can easily see what is what which is so convenient. The wear time for me is about 3 hours before I need to re-apply.
I definitely recommend these for any lip junkie that is looking for some extra colors to add to their collection!

*Cherry Culture is currently having their 20% off sale again so these lipsticks come to $2.40!!! Sale ends March 10th, code: MMM2013

Now on to what's most important, THE SWATCHES!

Wet n Wild: Mega Last Lipstick

For me, Wet n Wild had always been the brand that was crappy in quality but so cheap I couldn't be that disappointed..that is until a few years back. Talk about stepping up your game Wet n Wild! To this day, I still think Wet n Wild has some of the best quality eyeshadows and blushes at the drugstore and at a ridiculously affordable price!

I recently became reunited with my Wet n Wild stash of lip products and forgot how much I enjoy using them! I'd have to say that any cons to the product are pretty much justified by the price...$1.99. Yes, $1.99....AND most of the time Wet n Wild is BOGO 50% off or BOGO free. You could pretty much find change on the ground and get yourself some of these lippies...crazy.

So what's the good vs the bad?

NYX Slim Lip Pencil

Whoa! It's been a hot minute since my last post so I decided to do another swatch post to get my blog ball rolling again. I noticed that my post on the NYX Mega Shine lip gloss has probably received the most hits thus far so I thought I'd do a post on their lip pencils.

NYX lip pencils are some of my favorites because they are super affordable and they offer a wide range of colors (60!). They aren't the creamiest formula nor do they tug on the lips so they live somewhere in that middle area. They have great pigmentation and can definitely be worn alone as an all over lip color which is how I like to use them. As far as lasting power, I can get a few hours of wear before I have to reapply again.

They retail for $3.50 which is a freaking steal and you can find them even cheaper from cherryculture.com which is where I purchase them. I mentioned this in the lip gloss post here: NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss.

Nude Pink and Natural are hands down my most used lip liners in general...they go with everything and are a must have! I also highly recommend Bloom if you like to rock hot pink/magenta lips (umm, who doesn't?!) Ok, enough with the words, here are the swatches of the pencils I own (pics taken in natural sunlight):

Urban Decay Oz Palette: Theodora

Who's a sucker for anything in collab with Disney say guilty...GUILTY!!! 

When I heard Urban Decay was coming out with some new palettes inspired by the OZ movie coming out, I jumped right on it. I saw some sneak peeks of the two palettes and instantly knew Theodora was the one for me. I thought the colors in the Glinda palette were beautiful but I knew I wouldn't use them as often. With Theodora you can go from a day to night look really easily and I felt the colors were more suited for my skin tone. 

This palette goes for  $49 which you can buy here at Sephora. This palette is also sold at Ulta and of course, on the Urban Decay website. The palette holds 6 shadows which can be popped out and replaced with other single eyeshadows that Urban Decay sells (new formula shadows now pop easily out of their packaging so you can build your own palette). An empty 6 pan, build your own palette from Urban Decay retails for $18 so it is nice that this packaging can be reused as you finish each shadow. The palette also comes with a 27/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in Black and a Super-Saturated High-Gloss Lip Color in Theodora.

The quality of these shadows are superb! Urban Decay rarely ever fails to meet my expectations and this palette was no different. All the shadows were highly pigmented, with a velvety, buttery texture. They swatched so easily and blended very nicely. I liked that none of the shades had big chunks of glitter and the one shade that had some glitter (darker side of Spell) applied nicely with no fall out or glitter particles all over my face. All the other shadow were either matte or had a beautiful satin finish to them.

I have to say Beware, West, and the gold side of Spell are my favorites from this palette. Although these colors seem so dupable, I don't have anything exactly like them and again, the quality is great on these shadows.

Now for the lips...I absolutely love UD's Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color. They have wonderful pigmentation and leave a nice gloss/sheen finish on your lips. They aren't drying or sticky and they last on my lips for a couple hours without having to reapply. They are in a jumbo pencil form which also makes them super easy to use and you can skip the lipliner. Theodora is a beautiful bright true red. It leans more on the cool side so it helps to make your teeth look whiter. I think this color will look great on pretty much everyone and I'm definitely a fan!

*Theodora worn on my lips alone*

I definitely think this palette is worth the money based on what you are receiving and the quality of the products. I have ready many comments saying that the palette didn't seem very special, colors are dupable, and so on. I definitely don't think this palette is a "stop what you are doing and buy this right now" sort of thing, but I do think if you favor a palette that you can use for an everyday look but have options to glam up your look for night, this palette is great. For me personally, I can never have too many great quality shades of brown and you get the gold and green shadows which add even more look possibilities! I'd have to say that out of all the "limited edition" palettes I have, I will hands down get the most use out of this one.

Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Palettes

Wet n Wild eyeshadow palettes found at Rite Aid, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS. $2.99-$4.99


Spoiled Brat

Swatch:

Silent Treatment

     Comes with "angled" and sponge tip applicators. 

Swatch:

Lust

Swatch:

Swatched Top to Bottom starting with Left side of palette

Petal Pusher

Swatch:

Right Side of palette swatched from Top to Bottom

Left side of palette swatched from Top to Bottom

Blue Had Me At Hello

Swatch:

Top Row: Left side of palette from Top to Bottom. Bottom Row: Right side of palette from Top to Bottom.

Final Thoughts:
These shadows are great for the price. Each palette has some colors that are better than others when it comes to color payoff but even so, you are definitely getting more than your money's worth. The shadows are soft in texture which is nice, however the downside is they will break/crumble if not handled with care. They blend easily, stay put with a primer all day, and are on the higher end as far as quality is concerned when it comes to drugstore makeup. I definitely would recommend these for anyone who is just starting with makeup, looking to expand their color collection, on a budget, or wants to try new colors! Better yet, you can often find sales for BOGO 50% where Wet n Wild is sold! Score!

RATING:  4/5

Here are two looks of the shadow on using the Spoiled Brat Trio. Left side is following the recommended placement of shadow, Right side is crease color and lid color reversed.