The Red Edit: My Favorite Red Makeup Products! (+ swatches)

A while ago, I did a write-up on my favorite pink products. While I do have to add more to that list, I wanted to make a list of my favorite red products, considering Valentine's Day is just hours away. On one hand, I don't really care for the blatant commercialization of that day, but on the other hand, hearts, and pink and red, and prettiness! Okay, favorite red products coming up:

So, from left to right, top to bottom, we have the Maybelline Matte Bar Palette, the Wet 'n Wild Coloricon Blush in Blazen Berry, the Coastal Scents single Shadow in Baked Clay, and the Hard Candy Cashmere Silk demi-matte cream gloss in Tartufo. 

Then we have three shades from the Modern Renaissance palette: Red Ochre,  Venetian Red, and Love Letter. 

And finally, the shade Passion from the Norvina palette. 

Here is a shot of all the eyeshadows: Baked Clay, Red Ochre, Venetian Red, Love Letter, Passion, and Brickhouse (from the Maybelline palette). 

Baked Clay is a shade I use once in a while to brighten up my crease when I am using darker reds. It is the closest thing I have to a true red shade, and I keep it around because it blends so well with other colors. 

And while it took me time to figure out how to use and love the reds in the Modern Renaissance, I am really in love with Passion from Norvina. I have been using it in my outer corner constantly, and I think it's useful in the way that so many people loved and used Bitten from Makeup Geek. 

Finally, the shade Brickhouse is of such excellent quality and is so comparable to the other reds here. If you do not have many warm-toned mattes in your collection, and want an easy way to use mattes, I would strongly recommend the Maybelline palette. 

Our last two swatches our of the lip gloss and blush.

Tartufo (left) is like a glossy lip stain, and is the only way I have worn red tones on my lips. Other than that I tend to avoid true red products. Blazen (right) is a perfect shimmery brick blush, and its shimmer has a slight pale pink reflect. I highly recommend all of these products- I also think you can find the Hard Candy Cashere Silk glosses at half off, as Walmart is phasing them out. 

So there you have it! It really does surprise me how versatile red is as a color. I do feel that this year, more than any year before, I have embraced red colors.

Thanks so much for reading!

Hard Candy Gitteratzi Eyeshadow Duo in Mercury Rising: Review and Swatches

This is a new release from Hard Candy, in the style of the new-ish Huda liquid eyeshadow duos. I found mine in Walmart for $7.00.

Each side contains a "glitter" and "chrome" finish, each containing 4.6 g of product.

Each side also has a slanted doe-foot applicator.

I selected the duo Mercury Rising, because I love pink-shifting duochromes with a neutral base.

Let's get into product pics, swatches, and an eye look!

In person, the colors look a bit different. The glitter side actually has a slight pink shifting coppery base, with cool-toned gold micro glitters. In the bottle, it almost looks like a bit of a green shift in certain lights, but that is not apparent on the eye.

The true stunner for me is the chrome side. The pink shift is actually quite strong and cool toned against a warm base. I really like it.

As with all products that have this type of pink pigment, the true intensity of the product can only be caught in certain lighting:

 To its credit, each side of the product sets quickly and did not budge when I rubbed it with my finger. It does remove easily with miscellar water and other cleansing products.

The chrome side is quite easy to build up, while the glitter side is pretty, but does not build up as nicely as the chrome side.

I do have sensitive eyes and I do tend to experience a light stinging sensation when I apply liquid eyeshadow products. I did experience that as well here, but I also experience it with the higher-end Stila liquid shadows. If you are like me and tend to experience a bit of stinging that quickly goes away, you can expect that with this product. For me it's not unbearable, and I will probably use the chrome side again, but I am not going to use the glitter side again.

Here is a look I did using eyeshadow primer. The mattes are from the Maybelline Matte Bar Palette.

The chrome side is on my lid and was fairly easy to work with. It spread evenly and did not clump up. To be on the safe side, though, I did apply it after I completed using the matte shadows.

The glitter is on my inner corner and on the inner part of my lid.

Like I said before, the chrome side is the real winner for me, and I don't really care about the glitter side. I will continue to use this product, even though I do caution people with sensitive eyes, due to the very short-term stinging I felt upon application.

Thanks so much for reading!

Shop My Stash: Lip Products

Though I am no means a lipstick/lip product collector, I have ended up with far more lip products than one could ever need. That being said, I am pretty terrible about remembering to use them. Typically, I apply a lip product with color before I leave the house, and then just use lip balm for the rest of the day.

I would like to get more use out of my lip products. So I picked four out of my stash to remember to use this week.

Here they are:

 We have:

1.) A NYX liquid lipstick/gloss thing from their Steampunk collection in the shade Ignite

2.) A Stila balm in the shade Grayson

3.) A Hard Candy lipstick in the shade Nudist

4.) Maybelline Shine Compulsion lipstick in Taupe Seduction.

I also swatched them below, but not in that order.

Below, the first shade swatched is Taupe Seduction. I bought this because I am a lover of all things taupe, even if this particular shade is incredibly rosy/mauve. It is incredibly glossy, and I am hoping it will be a bit moisturizing. I have used it a bit, but not have used it long-term.

The second shade swatched is Nudist. These lipsticks from Hard Candy have a really nice formula, albeit a bit too soft. Still, I think it's an excellent color and formula, and I do feel it is a bit moisturizing.

The third "swatch" barely appeared because it is so sheer. Grayson is a gray-tinted, minty lip balm that actually works well underneath under colors as a way to cool them down. By itself, you do get a hint of gray, but only a hint.

Lastly, I'm a little intimidated by this product from NYX, in the shade Ignite. Aside from the fact NYX was borrowing heavily from Fenty's hexagonal designs, the applicator on this gloss dispenses way too much product, if you're not careful. This gloss is extremely pigmented, slightly minty, and has a great color. I feel like I was not being careful enough with it in the past, which resulted in the product getting on my teeth. I am not a fan of the level of care I am supposed to use when applying this product, but it really is an interesting product I want to get an actual full day's use of.

A testament to how pigmented Ignite is is how it blends out, compared to the other lip products (excluding Grayson). Each swatch was pretty much even, but Ignite just would not fade.

I am intrigued to see how this week will go and will follow up with my thoughts.

Thanks for reading!

Hard Candy Fierce Effects Lipsticks: Review and Swatches

I truly believe Hard Candy is a strong competitor to brands like Wet 'n Wild. I have vague memories of the brand during their non-Walmart days, but I think their acquisition by Walmart and recent releases have all been steps in the right direction.

For instance- take their Fierce Effects lipsticks. I have three to talk about today. I bought two of them for $5.00, and one was half-off for $2.50. Each contain 3.2 g of product. 

The shades on the docket for today are:

Bloodline, a red-toned brown

Nudist, a grey-toned light rose-brown

Purple Reign, a grey-toned medium purple (this is the one I bought on clearance) 

Here are some pics:

(l-r) Bloodline, Purple Reign, and Nudist. They are housed in a metal tube that has silver-toned divots. It is a very simple but eye-catching design. 

My swatches do not go in the same order. Below, from left to right they are Purple Reign, Nudist, and Bloodline. 

With/flash. Purple Reign looks a less pink in person. 

Without flash. 

In regular light. The photo below shows my arm after I wiped the lipstick away. There is some slight staining on each shade, even the lightest one.

 My review:

The creaminess of the formula of these long-wearing satin lipsticks is both a blessing and a curse. They are hydrating, formulated with Argan Oil, and smell like grape. The colors are super flattering for me, but I don't like the name of Nudist, because nude skin and what flatters nude skin varies from person to person. I love the strong grey tones of Purple Reign and Nudist because the colors are muted but still intense and don't make the teeth yellow.

Additionally, a little bit of the lipstick goes a long way. You can control how much pigment and intensity you get, and with a formula like this, you kind of need to.

The formula and colors belie its price point...but the packaging does not.

The issue is that the formula is so soft and creamy that the bullet of lipstick can't stand up straight in the tube. It can break off whatever keeps it attached to the bottom, and we run into problems like this:

The other two shades in my little collection are not as bad as this, but then again, this shade is the one I wear most often. 

So, either the formula has to change so the lipstick is not as soft, or the packaging has to change to prevent breakage. I don't know what the answer is. 

All in all, problems with the packaging are a little frustrating, but the price point is so reasonable that these issues don't prevent me from using and enjoying these products. 

If you are ever in need of a lovely lipstick, definitely check these out! Just be sure to be a tad careful with application.

Thanks for reading!! 

Hard Candy Fox in a Box Review and Swatches: Party Girl

Today I'm so excited to talk about a new product from Hard Candy. I think the Fox in a Box powders are strongly inspired by Benefit’s Boxed Blushes, as well as Hourglass’ powders.

For perspective, a  full size of Benefit box blush costs $29, but the amount of product in each varies drastically. Rockateur and GALifornia only contain 5g, while Coralista contains 8g.

Hourglass Ambient Light powder contains 10 g, and costs $46.00. Damn.

Hard Candy’s Fox in a Box contains 5g of product, and costs $7.00.

I know I'm on a low-buy, but this is just the sort of product that gets me excited. It's innovative, it is a drugstore dupe  for higher-end, as well as high-quality.

Hard Candy Fox in a Box powders are not new, per se. This is a relaunch, but I'm not sure what the original shades were. The shade that I picked up is Party Girl which is marbleized baked bronzer.

There are other shades in the collection, which include blushes and highlighters, but since I recently used up a  bronzer, I thought that that would be the best choice for me.

As you will be able to see from my swatches, Party Girl is a rose-toned bronzer. . I feel as though I'll probably get away with using it as a blush,  too. It's got a satiny, almost shimmery finish, and does not come off as glittery.

The powder also smells like chocolate. It is incredibly soft and very blendable. At first, it reminded reminded me a little bit of the Nyx baked blushes and bronzers, which concerned me because those had very weak pigmentation. On first swipe, Party Girl seemed a little sheer, but I found that it builds up easily, and doesn't budge.  When I tried to rub off the swatch with clean fingers, the color barely faded.

Overall, I'm really pleased to have Party Girl in my collection. The only downside of this product is that the brush it comes with is pretty much useless. I tried to apply the product with it, and it started shedding immediately. You are better off  using your own brushes.

So, if you're ever in Walmart and in need of an affordable bronzer, highlight or blush,  I would highly encourage Hardy Candy’s Fox in a Box.

Small Haul (WnW and Hard Candy) and Reviews!

Today in my local Walmart there was a Wet 'n Wild (WnW) holiday display, and boy it was ransacked. Still, I was able to get my hands on Royal Calyx. I wanted a duochrome highlighter with a touch of blue/lavender, and this got reasonable (but now glowing) reviews. 

Though this is the same design and weight as Precious Petals (the other megaglow highlighter I own), I think the formula is rather different. While Precious Petals feels creamy and smooth, Royal Calyx was slightly dry and grittier. 

Still, I thought it was really pretty on my face. It did not really emphasize texture. 

I also picked up a Hard Candy lipstick, because I did hear the reviews for the cream lipsticks were quite positive. 

The shade I purchased was Bloodline, because it reminded me of Klingon Blood Wine. It is super creamy- almost melts on the mouth- and is incredibly rich and pigmented. My skin is pretty light, so I have to be extra careful with this to avoid staining the skin around my mouth. 

Below, I have comparison swatches. 

The first lipstick I have swatched is one I thought would be a potential dupe for Bloodline- Coloured Raine lipstick in Soul. Soul as you can see is lighter and greyer, and not as glossy. Bloodline, the swatch below it, is much more red-toned and glossier. By the end of the day, there is still a faint stain from Bloodline on my arm, while Soul is completely gone. 

I also have swatched my two WnW megaglow highighters- Royal Calyx on top, and Precious Petals on the bottom. As you can see, Precious Petals has a more concentrated swipe and intense shine and pigmentation. Royal Calyx is a but more subtle- which may actually work, considering the kind of color it is.

The WnW Highlighter cost $5.00, and the Hard Candy Lipstick about $6.00. I think both are worth it, but I have to get a better grasp on the lipstick.

Lip Products: Collection and Declutter

Today I am going to go over my collection of lip products. I did not think my collection was overwhelming, but I did notice I was holding onto products that I never use.

 Let's begin first with my three favorite traditional lipsticks, all from the Maybelline Color Sensational line. From left to right, the colors are Grey Over It, Touchable Taupe, and Sin-a-Mon.

Swatched from left to right is Covergirl Melting Pout in "Gelebrity." After we have Grey Over It, a matte finish, both normal application and then blended out, Touchable Taupe, and Sin-a-Mon, both with a satin finish. All lipsticks (not the Covergirl gloss) are one swipe. 

What I love about these lipsticks is that they blend in and wear naturally, and is super flattering for me. Even Grey Over It, which is-as the name suggests- a strong grey leaning-taupe, is a bit jarring on first application, it blends into the skin. This is a fantastic line, especially from the drugstore, and I have no desire to declutter them. 

Next, we have more of my lipstick collection:

From l-r, we have Liquid Courage Cosmetics Liquid Lipstick in Plum It Up, Mellow Cosmetics Matte Lipstick in Nude, Buxom Lipstick in Dolly, a Bite Beauty Holidy duo in Bronze/Pepper, a Covergirl Star Wars lipstick in 70, a Smashbox Lipstick in Victorious (I think- it's a bright fuschia), and two lip liners from both Bite Beauty and Ofra (keeping both).

The Liquid Courage Cosmetics lipstick I got in a duo from Ipsy, and I regret buying it. I held onto this one longer than the other one because I thought this one had an interesting formula (sparkles), but neither are worth it. I hate matte liquid lipstick, and this one never even dried down. It was sticky. Decluttered.

The Mellow lipstick was much sought after by me, as I got it with Ipsy points (when you could still buy things with Ipsy points), after I received the other option- the bright blood orange shade- in my glambag. That was when I first suspected that something was up with the point system and not being able to choose which shade I wanted, even though I filled out the survey and blah blah blah. Something about artificially creating a "need" for a product. Anyway, the lipstick is a nice rose brown, that is matte but comfortable and wearable. The smell of it also reminds me of marshmallows. Keeping.

Buxom in Dolly. This was a blind purchase from TJ Maxx, and one of my best.  A cool leaning neutral rose, with a satin finish. It has a comfortable, long-wearing formula, and I dread running out of it. Keeping.

Bite Holiday Duo in Bronze/Pepper. Pepper is a little too warm for me, but I am keeping it. The star of the show is Bronze- a shimmering balm that lasts forever and is super comfortable. It is much more comfortable than the pearl gloss that I reviewed a while back. Instead of those, Bite should have come out with a lipstick version. I also do not look forward to running out of bronze. Keeping.

Covergirl Lipstick in "70" (Star Wars). At first I was going to hold onto it because I thought it could be a dupe for Bronze. But not quite. The formula is runnier, the shade is more pink, and the shimmer sheers out. I also really do not like the scent of Covergirl lipsticks. Decluttered.

Smashbox Lipstick. This was a gift from one of my friends, so I am not decluttering it. I wish I had more opportunities to wear it- it is a cool-toned dark magenta.

I will also be keeping the two liners.

Let's move on to glosses/balms:

From left-right:
I will be keeping the Trust Fund Beauty Gloss. It is comfortable with a nice tint of color, but I should say that the smell is awful- like acrylic paint.

I will not be keeping the Smashbox Insta-matte lipstick transformer. I don't think it does that great of a job, and it feels too much like the silicone-primer . I don't actually like Smashbox as a brand too much, I've found. Decluttered.

Bite Beauty Pearl Thing: I've reviewed this before. It is not worth its price tag, and I am confident this line will be marked down in the near future. However, it is a beautiful product that I will wear more in the fall/winter.

Maybelline Melting Pout "Gel Lipstick" in Gelebrity. First off, I really love the formula of this. I bought this on a whim, selecting the brown color, and it was very flattering. However, I ended up popping off the applicator because I had to squeeze it through pretty hard and it was very difficult. Now I just apply it with a brush. Keeping.

Purlisse is a brand that learned of through Ipsy. Not really impressed with the quality of the gloss. Will continue to use, but would never repurchase.

Skin Fix Balm. Another buy in which I had done no research whatsoever. I love this. I would have probably bought the unscented one, but Vanilla Mint is not unpleasant. Keeping.

Also keeping the Korres Greek Yogurt Lip Cooler in Framboise. So this is an exfoliator and a hydrator. It was originally sold for about $20, but I bought it at TJ Maxx for $5.00. When I bought it, I did not know what to expect. It does exfoliate the lips, but it also has a cooling metal ball on the applicator. I actually like it a lot (would not pay $20 for it thought), and use it in the mornings before applying makeup. Keeping!

So next is an odd product- Hard Candy has a lip primer- dual-ended for both creme and gloss products. I am currently testing this out, but so far I have noticed that it creates a sticky base for products and does prolong the durability of them. I have not tested a variety of products, only lipstick. For now, I am keeping.

Okay, so last I've got two of the same shade from MUA Makeup Academy. I've reviewed the Color Drenched Lip Butter in the past, and I still love it and use it. It is in the shade Honey, and I bought a back-up.

The second product from MUA I will be decluttering. It is Extreme Shimmer Lipstick in Soft Rose. I think MUA does a poor job of picking color samples- as they do not accurately depict the color of the actual product. Soft Rose is way too pink for me, and it is not flattering.

Last is a product I have almost completed- Nyx Butter Lipstick in Pops. I am keeping!

Below I have my decluttered items, as well as swatches of some of them:

The top two shimmers are a comparison between Bronze and and 70 (Covergirl). I had hoped they would be dupes but they are not.

The three pink shades from top to bottom are- Soft Rose, the Smashbox Shade (for reference) and Plum It Up.

Final thoughts:

My love of brown lipstick is not going anywhere. I love cool-tones and shimmer. Ipsy is not trustworthy with lip products.