Drugstore Blush Review

Good morning my sweet peas! Hope everyone is doing well. Today I decided to round up my more recent drugstore blush purchases to just have a good old fashioned chat about them. For reference, I have fair-light cool-toned combination skin.

The first is a Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Blush in Keep it Peachy. It was purchased at clearance from Walmart for $0.25. The only other Color Icon blush I had was Blazen' Berry, which I really enjoyed until it broke in the pan- the shimmer formula was way too soft. While this seems to be of a stiffer, matte formula, there is a lot of kick-up in the pan, and it is quite powdery.

Keep it Peachy is a matte powder peach, definitely on the more yellow side. I do prefer peach/corals like this in the Spring and Summer, because the color seems to glow off my skin. The product is simple, and easy to use, and I don't regret bringing it into my collection.

The next one is very similar, color-wise. This was another one I got from clearance ($6.50). It is the L'Oreal Paradise Enchanted blush in the shade 191, Fantastical. The formulation is a lot less pigmented than the Wet 'n Wild one. Though this blush is also peach, it is pinker with a more satin finish. I've been reaching for this one a lot lately, due to ease of use. I don't feel like I can over-do it with this blush. As for the scent, in the pan it is noticeable, but the peach scent is really light. I am very sensitive to smells and easily get headaches from them, but this one doesn't bother me at all. Nor does it linger once you apply it to the face.

Now that the more neutral, every-day blushes have been discussed, let's talk about the more unique blushes.

First is the Nyx Sweet Cheeks Matte blush in the shade Silence is Golden ($7.50). Once I found out that Nyx was releasing a yellow matte blush, but only in select places, I was intrigued. I asked people what they thought about yellow blush, but was met with incredulity. I scoured the internet for pictures and articles about yellow blush, hoping to see if it could work for me. With the release of Its Likely Makeup's Clown face palette, a quad of bright blushes- including yellow- I thought I was surely on the pulse of the yellow blush revolution.

No such revolution really took off, but I bought the Nyx blush and have pulled it out a couple of times. My own personal preference is to use this yellow blush with others (especially the two up-top), for an ombre blush effect, similar to what one would do with eyeshadow. That in particular has really been fun, and when used in that way, I do not regret purchasing it at all.

Our last blush is another clearance item, this time from Marshall's. After I purchased the yellow blush, I wanted to see if I could curate my own version of the ItsLikely clown quad. While I wasn't interested in the purple tones, there is a red one I thought I would give a go. It came to me in the form of Elf primer-infused blush in the shade Always Fiery. ($2.50)

This is a pure scarlet matte-blush. It is easy enough to use, blendable, and looks pretty "natural" on the skin, but I have not been reaching for it. I think when I apply it, it feels too cool-toned. Which I know, doesn't make much sense. But I feel because I am cool-toned, certain blushes read strange on my skin, and I just don't want to use them (see also: purple blush). I will certainly keep trying with the elf one, but I am just not that impressed.

And, now, onto the swatches! From top to bottom, it is: L'Oreal Fantastical, Nyx Silence is Golden, Elf Always Fiery, and Wet 'n Wild Keep it Peachy.

Anyway, hope you are all doing well! Thanks, as always, for reading.

Quick and Cheap Recommendations

I know, cheap is sort of a subjective term. But bear with me. All the products listed here can be found at Walmart or Target (some at Ulta), and are reasonably affordable for the amount of product you get and the quality of it, compared to other brands in the same product category.

Let's begin with the Elf Lip Lacquer in Clear. It costs $2.00 and contains 8 fl oz.  I picked this up because I thought the packing was nice and minimal, and the plastic looked thick and sturdy. I do quite like clear lip gloss, and this was kind of a careless purchase that I didn't really think much about. After applying it, I was happily surprised. For one, it doesn't have that typical mineral-oil flavor that comes with many cheaper lip glosses. Instead, it has a mild vanilla flavor that disappears. In a word, this lip gloss is comfortable. I have been reaching for it constantly, and have made a large dent in the tube.

Next is The Good Stuff intensive nourishment cream (leave-in conditioner), bought at Target for $8.00 for 7.7 fl oz. The story with this one is that all winter I was using the Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Oil Shampoo and Conditioner. At first, it made my hair really nice, but over time and as the weather got warmer, I felt my hair getting oilier and oilier. So I stopped using conditioner all together, and my hair got very dull. So I was kind of hapless and frustrated when I stumbled across this product- surprised at first by its reasonable price point. Be aware, though, this isn't some salon/indie hair brand with a magically low price point- it's owned by Unilever.

Still, after washing my hair with Head and Shoulders (because I have a dry/itchy scalp), I applied this to my damp hair. I really like how it brought back sheen and softness to my hair, without making me feel greasy. It also has a really nice salon-shampoo scent that definitely lingers throughout the day.

FYI, my hair is medium-thick is naturally kind of inconsistently wavy. *shrug*.

The mascara that I am currently using and would definitely recommend is The Pret a Volume Smoky Mascara in Velvet Black from Catrice. I did not get the Waterproof one because I feel waterproof sticks to closely too my lashes and is too difficult to remove.

 It costs $.7.00 and you get .37 oz of product. Snooping around other mascaras from other ranges, this mascara is quite hefty and contains more product than the L'Oreal Lash Paradise (0.28 oz), and the Benefit Roller Lash (0.3 oz).

I have seen some mixed reviews of this mascara online. My own lashes are naturally curled and chaotic at times. I don't really want length out of a mascara, just volume and definition, which this mascara most certainly provides. The formula was a bit creamier and easier to work with when the mascara was newer. Some mascaras get better as they "age," but I felt this one was more potent in the beginning. Still, I am continuing to quite happily use this.

Next is Ponds Rejuveness Anti-Wrinkle Cream. I buy mine at Walmart in the mini, which contains 1.75 oz (50 g) and cost maybe $3.00. I can't find the mini online :(. I would buy it from the travel-friendly section. . It does come in two other sizes, the largest containing 14.1 oz (40 g), and currently on sale for $13.82. This is my second time using up a container of this, and I have definitely mentioned this product on the blog before.

Still, it bears repeating. As someone who uses Retinol 1-2 times a week, this is a great product for those days when I am not applying Retinol.  The cream has a strong fragrance, and I usually take a break after using it for a couple of days, to prevent breakouts. If you have sensitive skin or skin that is raw from exfoliation or something else- be aware. Even today because my nose was red and raw from allergies, getting the tiniest speck of this cream on my nose was a bit painful.

Other than that, I really enjoy this cream. It makes my skin feel plump and does minimize lines on the face.

The next one is a newer purchase, the Neutrogena healthy skin anti-aging perfector (whew looong name). Mine is in the shade ivory to fair (10). This one is the priciest item on my list, at $10.59 (Target), for 1 FL oz of product. I have been on the look out for a BB Cream with SPF that is light enough for me. When I saw this, and read that The Muse approved this, I snapped it up.

I was unsure how well it would match me, but I am happy to say that it does a great job of blending into my skin tone:

It don't wear it alone, though, I layer it on top of Australian Gold SPF 50.

Overall, I have found myself pretty open to trying things from Neutrogena, even though some of their offerings are weirdly expensive- like that $15.00 highlighting stick?? If they can scale back the cost of some of their products, I think they would be even in a better spot- because I do like what I have tried from them so far.

And last, we have a brush! The Elf Flawless Concealer brush has been so much more enjoyable to use than my Real Techniques concealer brush. The Elf one costs $3.00, and has a fluffy, outward shaped brush head that is also rounded. I find it to be the perfect shape to blend under my eyes, as well as on my face. The shape of the brush really makes it easy to buff out concealer, rather than patting it or brushing it, which is what I felt the somewhat flat head of the RT brush was doing. I picked mine up at CVS, I believe.

So those are all my recs! Would love to know what you think- have you tried any of these?

Thanks for reading.


*** Redacted Rec: Burt's Bees Intensive Overnight Lip Treatment. Oh hey, if you made it this far down the page, then congrats! I have some bonus content for you- a redacted recommendation. This means that I was going to recommend the Burt's Bees lip mask on the premise that it was cheap, but some simple math has proven me wrong!

I really need to thank one of my fave bloggers, Brutally Honest Beauty. On her instagram stories, she was posting price comparisons of comparable drugstore vs. high-end products according to price per gram or oz, and actually found that in some cases the higher end product was actually the more cost-effective option.

This is true of the BB Lip Mask, which costs $8.68 for .25 oz. This means it costs $34.75/oz.

Let's compare this with a higher end mask- Laniege, a company that is known for its lip masks. Well, theirs costs $20 for .7 oz, or $28.00 for 1 oz. So the Laniege one seems to be the more practical option, especially for a product that does get a lot of use.

In sum,  I redacted it because I don't think consumers are exactly getting the best deal. And now I have something to add to my wishlist- I saw that Laniege had a vanilla option!

Covergirl TruNaked Peach Punch Eyeshadow Palette: Review and Swatches

Is it bad that I forgot I owned this?

As I was prepping for a skin care declutter (more on that later), I found the palette among all of my skin care products, and I realized I never did give it a good go. So, today I bring to you my results!

The TruNaked line from Covergirl costs about $10.00 per palette. Many of them dupe higher-end palettes, but some do not. The one I purchased, Peach Punch, is meant to dupe the Too Faced Peach Palette, which I have never tried.

Also notable is that the Trunaked line uses a "slurry" formula, as coined by Musings of a Muse, to describe the manufacturing process of pouring the product into the pans, as opposed to pressing loose powder. Maybelline also has this in their City Mini and Lemonade/Soda palettes.

I am somewhat a fan of the slurry type of eyeshadows. However, I do find that when they are tricky, they can be a double-edged sword-the metallics end up being too subdued, and the mattes too soft and easily muddied. Is that true of this palette, though?

Let's get into pictures.

Each shade is swatched below on the back of my hand, which was primed with a foundation mix I was trying out (it did not go well- the mix, I mean).

On the back of my hand, the matte browns were very vivid and pigmented, par the course. The coral/peach matte, which actually contains lavender microshimmers that do not appear on the arm, swatched terribly- even with my finger over primed skin! Some of the more neutral shimmers appear to swatch evenly and with intensity. 

I did two eye looks. The first is a very standard eye look I thought most people would go for when using this palette. 

On primed eyes (that I did NOT set), I first went in with the coral matte on my crease. It seemed to apply evenly and with pigment, but then I went in with the mid-toned reddish brown, located at the far right of the palette. That's when things got a bit muddy and patchy. 

Still, I soldiered on, and applied glitter glue to my lid. I then applied the second shade in the palette, a pink shimmer with gold reflects, which barely showed up on my lid. 

Feeling a bit forlorn, I decided to go an all-shimmer route for Look #2, using  the two colors that swatched the best. I applied glitter glue all over my lid and applied the fifth shade- a brown champagne shimmer- to the inner half on my eye, and the seventh shade- a dark brown shimmer- on the outer corner. Taking a pointed-tip fluffy brush, I carefully applied the two shimmers above my crease, blending them together. 

I really liked how this look came out! 

Let's get to the bottom line. Would I repurchase this palette? No, not at all. It was a bit redundant to begin with, considering what my collection looks like.

You should know that the mattes are finicky- do not use more than one at a time (when it comes to blending). The neutral shimmers are lovely, but not very metallic, and not very unique.

The peach smell, before I forget, is okay. I am pretty sensitive when it comes to fragrances, and this one did not bother me.

I have to say that I don't recommend this palette. I think there are better options out there.

Thanks for reading!

February-March Faves and Fail

It has been a hot minute, has it not? And by that I mean this blog has been a bit of a ghost town. My sincerest apologies. I know I have explained on the blog before that this period of time gets pretty hectic, and I don't have much room to sit down and prepare posts.

Enough excuses. Just know that there is more to come. As for my favorites, some are things that have already been in my collection, but I have since really come to appreciate. Others are brand new. Most of them, oddly enough, were purchased at Target.

None of them are eyeshadows, which is shocking to me. Eyeshadows are typically my makeup favorite. Right now I am holding off, though, because I am currently trying some Sydney Grace shades. I want to devote an entire post to them, so we will forego any discussion of eyeshadow for now.

Let's get this show on the road. As always, click on the pic for higher-res. 

The first is the PIXI Milky Mist. It cost $15 at Target, for 80 mL of product. I bring this one with me to work. I am very much a fan of facial mists, and I especially enjoy the fact that this provides hydration. Though I have combination skin that can get quite oily throughout the day, I find that the lines on my face are more pronounced by the end of the day, and my skin just feels tired, which this spray helps with. As of now I am not sure if I would repurchase, because there are plenty of facial mists out there, but in the meantime I am very much enjoying this one. I have been using it for a month now.

Soap and Glory Puffy Eye Attack Gel, $14.00 for 18 mL. So this one has pretty mixed reviews on the internet. I am always on the hunt for eye gels, because my eyes are prone to getting a bit swollen in the morning. On my sensitive eyes it seems to prep my skin pretty well. It doesn't sting my eyes in the morning, but at night if I removed makeup and rubbed the skin and then applied the gel, it most certainly stings, which makes sense. It absorbs quickly and doesn't leave the skin sticky. I personally like this gel, and appreciate how it calms my eye area in the morning and night. However, I am always open to different alternatives.

Good Chemistry Body Mist in the fragrance Brainiac. I bought this about a year ago after trying out the tester. It cost $10.00. In addition to a positive first impression from using the tester, the name of the spray was intriguing and reminded me of the Justice League/Supergirl/Superman villain. Brainiac is unlike anything else in my collection. While I usually wear gourmand, creamy, and very sweet fragrances, Brainiac seems very masculine at first, and peppery. It eventually wears down and you can smell a bit of Vanilla. Even though this is a body mist, the fragrance lasts the whole day, which I appreciate. It is a really cool, clean scent, and I would recommend checking it out.

Next, we have a new shade of Butter Blush from Physicians Formula, in the shade Saucy Mauve. It seemed to me that the initial Butter Blush release from PF wasn't very successful, because the shades were a bit too chalky and similar. I think PF is trying to rectify this. Saucy Mauve is similar to Wet 'n Wild's Blazen Berry, but not as sheer. It also lasts the entire work day for me, which is about 7 hours. Now how can I get Butter Bronzer to stay on that long?? I have been using Sauvy Mauve as my only blush for about two weeks now, and I don't know why. I just think it goes with both cool and warm toned looks. It provides warmth and color to the face and has a somewhat lustrous, natural, finish. I highly recommend it.

Then we have two brushes from Elf, both $3.00 each. The left is a tapered highlighting brush, which I now use to set translucent powder under my eye. The other is a concealer brush, which I use now to blend in concealer under my eye. They have replaced my Real Techniques brushes, which I think are not precise enough for that area of my face. The elf brushes are quite fluffy and soft, which is important when working on such a sensitive area of skin.

Makeup Revolution, Supersize Concealer in the shade C1. C1 is the second lightest shade in the range, with neutral undertones. The concealer cost $10.00, and you get more than double the amount of product in the original, which is excellent. I used up the original sized Conceal and Define in about 3 months. I just wish they didn't make the supersize option an Ulta exclusive. Maybe one day.

Alright, so my last two favorites are part of a team, in a way. One "major" makeup revelation I had these past two months has been cream/gel eyeliner. I am a total convert, and no longer want to mess with eyeliner pens. Mac Pro Longwear Fluid Line in Blacktrack, which cost $18.00, is working for me. I use it with the Luxie lip brush. I feel that this option gives me the most control. I also think it is the more economical version, as I was getting overwhelmed with the amount of dried up eyeliner pens that were piling up. My only caveat about this product is that is does leak to my lower lid when I inadvertently apply too much product towards the outer corner of my lid. But that does not happen too often.

And finally, I have one fail, but it is major. Target and CVS are now carrying the Creme Shop, which used to be a K-Beauty brand (I think). I bought their wispy mascara for $9.00, and all I can say is....Nope. Stay far away. This product did literally nothing for me. And this is what it looks like:

A clumpy nightmare.

So, that's all I have on the docket for today. Have you tried any of these?

Thanks for reading!  😊

Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Blush in Blazen Berry: Swatches and Review

I believe this a new color offering from Wet 'n Wild. When I saw it at Walgreen's the other day, I was struck by how unique it looked. Clearly, it was berry-toned, but also a brick-red color? And shimmery? I knew that I had never used anything like it before, so for $2.49, I picked it up.

Let's look at some pictures!

The formula is really nice. Though it is shimmery and soft, it is not "wet" feeling, and very easy to blend. I don't even mind the little brush.

 We have a heavy finger swatch. In the picture below it is also blended out.

I was really struck at how the shimmer sheer out with the color, and how it was sheer but in a good way.

This is a really nice blush to also pair with highlighter.  In the picture below, I basically went ham and draped it all over my face, and then just applied Mac Snowflushed on top to see what would happen.

I don't hate it.

I have also been wearing this blush to work, but not in such a crazy way. It is quite easy to apply and I do feel it lasts a long time. Even though I am fair and have cool-toned skin, I think the blush works well on me. I think it also brings out the green tones in my eyes. 

I would highly recommend this blush and I think Wet 'n Wild introduced such a cool color and finish to their line. 

Thanks for reading!! 

Skin Care Review Round-Up

I have some recent skincare-related items to talk about! Let's get into it!

1.) Lucas' Pawpaw Treatment. I bought this on Amazon for $8.00, 25 g of product. I first learned about this from Kimberly Clark, and I must say I am a fan. My hands, fingers, and even scalp get cracked during the winter, so this balm provides a nice bit of relief. I also did some research- fermented papaya has anti-microbial properties. The pawpaw ointment is made of fermented papaya suspended in petroleum jelly. It is safe to use on the face and lips as well. I have found it to be fast absorbing, and I would probably repurchase. It also has a faint smell of papaya, which is nice. 

2.) Revlon Photo Ready Candid Foundation. 0.75 fl oz, for $11.00. I am a bit miffed that they couldn't sell 1 fl oz, like everyone else. But I have been using this foundation for about two months and I really like it. It is light, but not oily, and had medium coverage. It also is in a really convenient pump bottle, which is not re-usable, unfortunately. It does not contain any SPF, which is okay, because of the fourth item. I would probably repurchase this foundation. 

3.) Wet 'n Wild Coconut Primer Water, $5.00. I have used up about two or three bottles of the regular one in the past, but have since discontinued using it because I was converted to Mac Fix+. But because Wet 'n Wild came out with a coconut-scented one, I had to try it. To make this short: no, it does not smell as good as the Mac Coconut Fix+. It has a slight note of pineapple to it, too, it is overall more sour smelling. In terms of what it does for the face, I got the same results with the original formula, which is quite good. But, I would not repurchase. 

4.) The final item was purchased because of another one of my favorite bloggers, the Anti-Haul Blog. I was in need of a new SPF product, and I recently read her favorites of 2018, to see Australian Gold Tinted Sunscreen, SPF 50. According to her, it had a non-greasy finish, and held on to foundation well. 

Well, I have to agree. I am quite fair, and the tint just blends out. And it does wear foundation well. My biggest thing with SPF products is scent- if the scent is strong, I am just not going to use it. But the Australian Gold lotion has barely any scent, just slightly like oatmeal, which I am more than okay with.

Swatch time! 

We first have two unblended swatches of the Revlon Foundation, left, and the suncreen, right. For the foundation, I am the shade 110. 

And here is everything blended out!

So that's my round-up! Except for the primer water, I am a huge fan of all these finds. Let me know your thoughts on them as well.

Thanks for reading!

Affordable/Drugstore Highlighters that Rival High End

This topic is definitely not a novel one by any means, but I do think the highlighters I've chosen today are ones that aren't talked much about, and I am very excited to sing their praises.

For reference, I have combination-oily skin, with fine lines/a bit of texture on the areas I like to use highlighter, like the tops of my cheeks.  My skin tone is fair and cool-toned, and I do prefer highlighters of many different colors, though I have been steering away from gold-toned highlighters lately.

Though I do have a small collection of higher-end highlighters I very much enjoy, there are drugstore/affordable highlighters in my collection that prove that you don't need to shop high-end to get a fabulous highlighter:

Though the ones I've selected all skew on the lighter side, the products I've chosen belong to lines that have a good range of colors of the same high quality.

First pictured, the top left, is Colourpop's Here Kitty Kitty, which retails for $8.00 and contains 6.5 g. It is a light champagne shimmer. It lasts all day, but also has a sheerer base so that the sheen is natural and smooth.

It sort of appears the product has bits of hard-pan, but I have not experienced any difficulty working with it. On the contrary. This is a highlighter that can give off a natural shine, or be built up dramatically. 

Next, we have Milani Strobelight in After Glow. Milani's line has a great range of colors and depths, with plenty for people to choose from. These retail for $10 and contain 8 g of product, but it seems that Target is selling travel sized ones for $6.00. I am not sure when Milani/Target started selling the travel sized versions, but now I am even more intrigued.

Anyway, before I got my hands on the loose highlighter from Wet 'n Wild, this one was one of the most "blinding" highlights in my collection. It is definitely one of the more frostier ones, in my opinion, but with a pinker-toned metallic shine.

From what I have seen, all the powders in this line, of various gold and coppery tones, are of excellent quality.

Next is from Physician's Formula, from their Butter line of Highlighters, which is well-regarded and reviewed. These retail for about $10 and contain 5 g of product. The shade I own is a Pearl. The formula of these are similar to Colourpop's Super Shock line. I have heard amazing things about all the colors in this Butter Highlighter line. I've been using Pearl for a couple of weeks now and love it. It creates such a natural but intense sheen, and stays on the face all day. Pearl is a sheer-based frost that almost has a pinkish/lilac reflect.

As the most expensive option on this docket with the least amount of product, I would strongly suggest using a CVS/Walgreens coupon when buying this, but I do think it's worth it.

Personally, I do have trouble keeping face powders and cream products on my face, but not with any of these, especially the Butter Highlighter. One caution is that the product is scented. I think it has more of a buttery, cake-like smell to it, compared to the Butter Bronzer. With the Butter Bronzer, I just smell sunscreen.

Finally, my newest acquisition, one the one that inspired this entire post: Wet 'n Wild Written in the Stars, $7.00, containing 8 g of product.

Woo boy. I have been using cream-like highlighters for a while, and I was wondering how I would transition back to powder products in the summer, or even if I was going to do that at all. Well, this loose powder by Wet 'n Wild, as part of their Zodiac collection, has a bright, pink, cool-toned reflect, and though the product is sparkly, it by no means is full of chunks of glitter. Though Written in the Stars was part of a limited edition collection, I believe it is still on sale. Wet 'n Wild also has two newly released loose highlighters available that suit darker skin tones. This product not only lasted all day on my face, but still gave an obvious/vibrant glow. 

A swatch of all of these products together:

(click image for better quality) From r-l, After Glow, Here Kitty Kitty, Pearl, and Written in the Stars

Honorable mentions include the Megaglo pressed highlighters from Wet 'n Wild.

Let me know if you have tried any of these, or if there are others worth mentioning!

Thanks for reading! 

Teeny Flower Eye Art

Last night for some reason I remembered how flower graphic eye art was a thing for a while. Though that trend calmed down, I thought it was a reasonably easy and pretty thing for me to practice.

The only thing I was missing was a paint palette/colorful liquid liners. As I somewhat expected, the Wet 'n Wild paint palettes were on sale at Walmart, and I bought the Brights one for a dollar. Woo! I set most of my products with the BH Cosmetics Back to Brazil palette, except for the white, which I used the Nyx Milk crayon.

Here are my results:

So I primed my eye with Mac paint pot in Painterely. I set my brown bone and crease with neutral shades from the Maybelline Lemonade palette.

I then lined my eyes with the L'Oreal Paradise Liquid liner. I then made my wing green by placing the green shade from the Wet 'n Wild paint palette, and then dark green to light green eyeshadow on top to set it.

I then made the flowers, beginning with the red. This was a bit time consuming, and I had to use a very steady hand. I did not  do anymore than I had to because I was afraid of ruining it.

What cinches it and makes the flowers look like flowers is the orange/yellow in the center, as well as the dashes of light green for leaves.

Overall, I would definitely do this look again. I probably won't try to make the end of my wing green, and instead just make a solid black wing for greater contrast. 

The biggest thing was selecting the right brushes, which had to be small enough to such small details. And of course...lots of practice:

Thanks for reading!  

(❦ ᴗ ❦ ✿)

Wet 'n Wild Bloom Time: Review and Swatches

Hello! November is nearly over, and winter is soon upon us. But Wet 'n Wild is keeping the spring alive, it seems, with two new highlighter releases.

Their Megaglo Highlighter line is one of the best drugstore lines I know of. These highlighters are imprinted with a flower design, and have a mostly consistent quality.

A couple of days ago I put Bloom Time- a brand new release for the brand- on my wish list, and it just so happens I stumbled upon it at my local CVS.

As with all these powders, Bloom Time contains 5.4 g of product and costs $4.99.

This is what it looks like in the pan:

It appears to be a pale frosty light orange/peach. However, when swatched on my skin, the powder appears a lot warmer. It becomes a light warm pink with a light gold, almost silver, reflect:

  

On the left we have one swipe of the product, and then on the right it is blended out. 

Here we also have some blurry-ish photos to show the intense pale gold reflect. 

I also have comparison swatches. On the left is Precious Petals, the original shade in the line and the one with the best reported quality. In the center is Bloom Time, and to the right is Sweetest Bling, a pale cool-toned gold. 

 Precious Petals and The Sweetest Bling have excellent formulas, and I feel Bloom Time is no different.  The formula is a little powdery, but in a good way. It does not emphasize texture on the skin, and glides over my skin.

Like the other highlighters from Wet 'n Wild, Bloom Time definitely rivals my more high-end ones. I don't have anything else like it in my collection, aside from Lilac Geode from Becca, which is a touch more purple. I love that it adds a bit of color and glow to my face without being obvious. It's just really, really pretty, and makes me feel like I'm wearing the last bits of springtime sunshine.

I definitely recommend picking this one up!

Thanks for reading! （✿ ͡◕ ᴗ◕)つ━━✫・*。

Wet 'n Wild Platinum Bar Highlighter in Winter Bloom: First Impressions and Swatches

Look what I found at Walgreen's today! Wet 'n Wild, for the holidays, has released an expanded line of their Gold Bar Highlighter from last year. I picked up the lightest one, Platinum Bar, aka Winter Bloom, to try out. It cost $5.00.

 The packaging is a little unwieldy, and was hard for me to open with my nails. Unfortunately, when I tried to use the end of my highlighting brush as a lever, it scraped a bit of the product.

The mirror is useful, but difficult to slide out. The product information sticker was over the grip, so I couldn't slide the mirror out without peeling off that sticker.

Winter Bloom is a very pale gold. At first I was afraid it would be too similar to some highlighters in my collection, but I do think it is distinct.

 From top to bottom we have finger swatches of the entire pan mixed together, than just the star, and then without the star.

In the below pic, I compared Winter Bloom (top) to Full Moon from Physician's Formula Butter Palette (middle), and Kat Vom D's Thundercrunch (bottom)

Below we have some uncomfortably close pictures of my most bare face with the product applied to my browbone and cheeks. It went on very intensely, so I wonder how it will perform with a base that is already primed with translucent powder.

Overall, I think the color is a good match for me. The formula is very smooth and the finish is very intense and shiny. I look forward to using more of this highlighter!