Review: Hard Candy Fierce Effects High Intensity Eyeshadow

Hey guys! I recently went to Walmart and ended up hauling some makeup (a haul will be up on Wednesday) and I bought Hard Candy's Fierce Effects High Intensity Eye Shadow. These come 2 in a pack and they only retail for $5, there were 3 color options; the one I'm showing you today which are two neutrals.

The pack I have is in the shade "Slow & Steady".

  

Packaging: These are essentially a pressed pigment and their packaging is very similar to L'Oreal's Infallible shadows; they even include the stopper.

Formula: The brown shade has a very nice creamy texture and clings well to itself. The lighter champagne color is still creamy but does not cling as well and can have fallout.

Application: I like to use these with my fingers and over primer so they can cling to something. I pat the lighter shade on the lid and the other shade on the outer corner. I then take a crease brush and fluffy blending brush to take the darker shade into the crease and outer V. They blend very easily and build well.

Wear: Their staying power is pretty neutral; they're perfectly fine over a lid primer.

 Swatches:

 I took this picture to show you how this color reflects light very well and is very brightening:

Do I recommend?
These are definitely better than other drugstore shadows I've tried (I'm sure some of you know how I feel about Maybelline and Covergirl quads), but they aren't remarkable by any means. They're worth it if you're in for a specific shade, but if you have your collection of nice quality neutrals; just stick with what you have.

What do you want to see next? 

- Em

Review: Shine Luxe Sheer Lip Color by Sonia Kashuk

Hey guys! I decided to do a review on my Sonia Kashuk Shine Luxe Sheer Lip Color in "Sheer Pink Lust" to tell whether they are worth the hefty drugstore tag of $10.99 on Target's website.  I only have one shade to share with you which is "Sheer Pink Lust" which contains no shimmer. There 8 additional shades (all of the names do begin with "sheer" so do not be mislead), but because of the price tag I bring a review on one of them.

First off- packaging. Of course being a SK product it looks very chic and classy:

The tube also displays a color swatch on the bottom, and it is very accurate:

 The name is on the bottom of the tube:

Let's talk about the application of this lip color- it is very creamy and soft; in fact I pressed a little too much while applying this one day and I did notice it shift in the tube slightly (AKA don't leave this in a hot car type of product). It glides on very nicely and smoothly with even color on the lips.

The consistency of this lip product is very creamy and buttery and it feels moisturizing, but not to the extent of a thick lip balm.

Because of its creamy texture, it fills in the lines of the lips nicely and blurs them. 

This lasts about 3 hours on me. If eating or drinking it will transfer so reapplication is necessary.

The pigmentation:

Left: one swipe, Right: built up swatch

But to the real question-- are they worth the money?

These remind me of what I had expected the Revlon lip butters to be (yes, I'm the one person who's not really into the butters) so that being said I find them a little overpriced for what you're getting. 

What do you want to see next?

-Em :) 

Drugstore Haul :)

Hey guys! I felt like treating myself this week and when I was at Walmart I hauled some things for review and for my own personal interests. ;) Here's what I got:

e.l.f brushes:

LtoR: Studio Powder Brush, Essential Concealer Brush, and the Studio Small Angled Brush 

 I didn't buy this for concealer but I like eyeliner brushes that are cut this way. I find them very easy to use.

 I've been using a travel sized angle brush from Sonia Kashuk that I like but its size is becoming a pain so I bought this so I would have a regular sized handle on the brush. 

I bought this powder brush because I hear people use this to buff in liquid foundations and I've been wanting this for a while. I want to try using powder foundations and this seems like it would be perfect for buffing those into the skin.

 Hard Candy finds:

LtoR: Fierce Effects shadow in "Slow&Steady" and their LITE Bright highlighting concealer

I actually just posted a review on these shadows on Monday if you want to know my thoughts on them. As for the concealer, I saw this and remembered how @brokebabebeauty on IG loves this and I wanted to give it a shot!

 The essentials...

LtoR.. e.l.f Eyebrow Kit and Maybelline Eyestudio gel liner

The e.l.f Eyebrow Kit is my HG brow product it makes filling in and shaping a dream. I usually buy the shade "Medium" but it was out so I picked up "Dark" instead. 

My Essence gel liner seems to be losing its intensity (I've had it for a while and use it daily) and I hear tons of rave about this Maybelline one so I wanted to give it a shot.

 WetNWild..

I watched Melmph's recent video where she swatched a lot of drugstore Kylie Jenner inspired lipsticks and this was one of them and it was so beautiful, I knew I needed it!

There's my small haul. :)

What do you want to see next?? Leave me requests here or on IG.

- Em

Summer to Fall Transition Look

Hello!

The jump from bright to vampy makeup shouldn't be too harsh which is I why I've brought you all a transition look using the ever so popular Naked 2 palette.    

Here are the eye products:

The look..

              

I primed with UD's potion in "Eden". I then took a fluffy crease brush into my NYX Matte Bronzer in "Light" to give natural depth and warm it up a bit. I took Naked 2's "Snakebite" and blended it into my crease/outer V. Using my fingers I patted "Chopper" onto my lids.
For the cheeks and lips I used..

WetNWild's "Spotlight Peach" blush and NYX Chunky Dunk in "Rum Punch"..
Hope you guys enjoyed this look!
Sorry for the short posts lately.. I have school, homework, driving hours, and work. If you leave me requests below I can be sure to post on it; so what do you want to see?
-Em

Birchbox vs. Ipsy September 2014

Guess who got both of their beauty packages in the mail this week? Me. :)

So here is another BB vs. Ipsy.

As usual I will start with Birchbox:

The box itself was very pretty this month.

Here's what I received:

- Macadamia Healing Oil Spray: I wasn't wowed by this really. I never feel like oils in general every penetrate the hair. 

- TOCCA hand cream: I like to get hand cream samples to keep in my bag or purse! It's already in my purse!

- Harvey Prince Hello perfume sample: ugh.. on my BB profile I said I only wanted a max of 2 of these per year.. hopefully this is the last one for a while.

- Temptu highlighter: kind of meh on this one. I don't go through highlighter quickly so I won't be opening this for a while.

- Chapstick Hydration Lock: I HAVE AN OVERWHELMING AMOUNT OF CHAPSTICK. The more the merrier, I love balms. Because it was BB's anniversary, this was a bonus item.

- Avene gel cleanser: I like that BB listened to my profile because this is made for blemish prone skin. This cleans well and doesn't strip my face. Might repurchase in the future if it's not crazy expensive.

- Overall: I definitely received my $10 worth in products but I'm not excited to try anything.

Now onto Ipsy..

I like the bag, it looks edgy.

Here's what I got:

- Caviar CC Cream for Hair: ohhh I love hair masks and deep conditioners! I will definitely use this in my shower.

- Nourish Organic Moisturizing Cleanser: Dear Ipsy, I have oily skin as said in my profile. Why would you send me a moisturizing cleanser?? I will give it a try in the winter.

- Hikari lipstick in "Cabernet": I have been into deeper lip colors lately and this should do the trick. It is a deep red.

- Crown dual-ended shadow/crease brush: Yay I love getting brushes and I always need new eye brushes.

- Pacifica Waterproof Eyeliner: Yet another pencil liner... I'll get to this one after finish my 2569980 pencil liners.

- Overall: I'm excited for the brush, lipstick, and hair mask... but the other 2 products are kind of misses for me. I don't need either of them.

Who wins?

- Ipsy.. I like getting things like tools because they last very long and I've heard amazing things about Crown brushes. You can't go wrong with lipstick and everyone's hair needs a mask in my opinion. Where BB didn't live up is the perfume sample and the hair oil. I also wished the highlighter sample was larger and in more accessible packaging. 

What do you want to see next?

-Em

:)

This vs. That: Maybelline Mineral Power Illuminator & Bare Minerals's "Clear Radiance"

Hi guys! Today's post is a This vs. That post. I originally started this series on my Instagram, here... I got a lot of positive feedback on it so I decided to continue on! It is hard to find comparable products in my collection which was surprising because I have a lot of makeup. But these two products randomly came to mind and I realized they'd fit in so well with this series. :) They are two loose highlights; one is Maybelline's Mineral Power Illuminator in "Nude" ($5-$7) and Bare Minerals's "Clear Radiance" ($19).

               

 

               

 

So here's the breakdown..

- Quality of pigmentation: The Bare Minerals highlight definitely has better color pay-off; the Maybelline illuminator is less pigmented.
- Application: The Bare Minerals applied so well. This is because it has a nicer powder base for the shimmer to cling to; you can tell because it so so smooth and hangs together nicely when being applied/swatched. The Maybelline one however has glitter and a very fine powder base so it can apply a little patchy because it doesn't have the same binding quality the Bare Minerals one has.
You can see this in the swatches:

- Ability to blend: They both sheer out nicely.

- The quality of the shimmer: As I said before the Maybelline seems to have more of a chunky glitter where as the Bare Minerals has a finer shimmer.

- How long it wears: I looked at my face at the end of the day right before taking off my makeup and I have to say that 

So which wins?

I would have to pick the Bare Minerals powder. It has a nice finer shimmer and looks more natural.  Keep in mind that the BM powder is clearly a lot more pink in tone than the Maybelline. But I do have yellow undertones and applied lightly it doesn't look out of place.
Do you have any suggestions or requests for me to do a This vs. That post on?
- Em :)

Weekly Makeup Rotation!

Hi guys! Today I have my makeup rotation for this week to share. Last time I did this post I did it a little differently. Now I am taking the colored cosmetics I want to use in said week, putting it with the other colored items I would need, and then putting it in an old Ipsy bag. Here are the 4 looks I'll be doing this week!

Old Ipsy bags coming in handy..

 Look 1:

BareMinerals blush in "Exhilarate", e.l.f Matte Lip Color in "Tea Rose", Bare Minerals pigments in "Velvet Vanilla" and "Smoked Grey", and NYX's Studio Liquid Liner in "Extreme Blue"

I love doing these kind of looks! A muted lip and cheek with an accent of bright liner on the eyes.

Look 2:

Stila Convertible Color in "Lillium", Essence eyeshadow in "Party All Night", and Tarte Glamazon 12-Hour lipstick in "Inspired"

I like having a lively pink on the lips and cheeks to really perk up my collection. I love doing a simple one shadow look as well and really like this shadow from Essence.

Look 3:

BareMinerals duo in "The Epiphany", NYX Round Lipstick in "B52", and Laura Geller blush in "Maui"

I really wanted to wear this gorgeous rosey lipstick to school and figured I could pair it with a pretty neutral eye and muted berry cheek.

Look 4:

WetNWild MegaGlo in "Spotlight Peach", NYX Love in Rio trio in "Cabana Boy", and WetNWild Fergie lipstick in "Fergie Daily"

I like the look of warmed up cheeks and a soft warm eye. I love the formula of WetNWild Fergie lipsticks so I chose my nude one for this look.

 I've been making progress in my Project Pan! I'm thinking of doing an empties post including not only makeup, but also my haircare and body/skin products around the time of my next PP update so I can get all of my trash out at once (haha). :)

What would you like to see next?

-Em

Getting into Fall: Blushes

Good afternoon guys! Just got out of school thank God

I recently reorganized my eye, lip, and face drawers; and with this I separated my blushes into the more "spring and summer" and "fall and winter" color categories (in quotes because I don't think makeup has any rules and I frankly wear whichever blush I want whenever I want *snaps fingers*). But I know deeper and berry blushes are very popular for the upcoming seasons so I wanted to swatch the ones in my collection that fit under this color category. :)

I only have 5 to share; I'm not much of a blush junkie but I do love blush.

LtoR going in rows: Physician's Formula "Blushing Rose", NYX "Spice", Laura Geller "Maui", Bare Minerals "Exhilarate", Elizabeth Mott Tints&Sass (cheek stain)

                                                              

                                          

 Swatches in same order:

A quick but hopefully festive post for y'all blush junkies. ;)

What would you like to see next?

-Em :)

Getting into Fall: Lip Colors

Hi guys!!  I actually don't particularly delve into super bright or deep lip colors usually during the week because I worry about re-application during school, but I do have a handful of lippies to share from my collection with swatches!

Here they are..

LtoR: Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in "Berry", NYX Round Lipstick in "B52", Cargo Essential Lip Color in "Santa Fe", Maybelline Color Elixir in "Caramel Infused", Buxom Full-On Lip Cream in "Kir Royale", and OFRA's Lipgloss Plumper in "Sultry"

Swatches correspond LtoR as order above:

    

 The Fresh treatment is surprisingly pigmented for a tinted balm, and mixed with the natural pigment in your lips it becomes very dark.

 NYX's Round Lipsticks are a completely under-rated drugstore product in itself but "B52" is incredible! It's more a rosey neutral in the swatch but on my lips I can layer it and it can pull a little blue-toned on my skin. It is a very interesting shade.

 Cargo's lip color does have shimmer in it, but if you can deal with the texture of a shimmery lip color this is a fabulous deeper neutral.

Maybelline's Color Elixir is a great rosey neutral that is perfect for the transition between summer and fall.

A close color to Fresh's balm in "Berry" is Buxom's "Kir Royale". I almost find that they are the same color but in different formats.

OFRA's "Sultry" plumper has a golden shimmer that is almost metallic, a great gloss for highlighting your lips and to coordinate with a berry lipstick or liner.

Thanks for reading!!

What do you want to see next?

-Em