Crush On Lava
Hard Candy Crush On Lava – two coats, no topcoat. Sorry about the dry cuticles!
Hard Candy Crush On Lava – Swatch of the Day
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Category Archives: *Brands: Drugstore
Revlon Chroma Chameleon Duochrome Collection With Display Photos
It looks like Revlon is joining in the duochrome polish trend with eight new polishes – good news for me, since I love duochrome nails!
A friend from a nail forum, who goes by the name Mephitine, spotted this new Revlon collection at a Bed, Bath & Beyond store today, and kindly allowed me to post these pictures! The polishes are .29 fl oz (small), and retailed for $5.99, though price may vary by region. I don’t see any indication that this is a limited edition collection, but I’m not sure yet. These are limited edition; Mephitine just told me that the top of the display (which is cut off in the photo) states that this is a LE collection.
I also have bottle shots of each shade:
Rose Gold
Pink Quartz
Gold
Topaz
Amethyst
Tanzanite
Aquamarine
Cobalt
And here are seven of them together, so you can see the shades in comparison – Gold is not in this photo.
I will be looking out for these – Amethyst looks especially gorgeous, but I’ll probably buy a couple shades when I find them. Let me know if you see these! And thanks again to Mephitine for the photos!
NYX Xtreme Lip Cream Review & Swatches
I love a good liquid lipstick, so I’m very happy that several have been launched over the past year or so , both high-end and drugstore. Offhand, I can think of five – these NYX Xtreme Lip Creams are from early 2012, Wet n Wild recently released its Megalast Liquid Lip Colors (review), Shiseido’s Laquer Rouge was launched late last summer (review), Armani’s Lip Maestro – which I will eventually try! – is from last November, and Guerlain’s Rouge G L’Extrait, which looks lovely but so pricey, is from last summer. The UK also has Rimmel Apocalips liquid lipstick, which I hope makes it to the US soon.
Packaging-wise, there isn’t much to say about the Xtreme Lip Creams – they’re in a standard tube with a doe foot applicator. I found the applicator easy to use, and was able to apply the lipsticks with it, though a lip brush does lead to a more precise application.
I initially purchased two shades, but I liked them so much I went back for three more, so I currently have five shades, out of the eleven in the range.
Nude Peach Fuzz // Buttery Nude // Bonfire // Spicy // Absolute Red
As you can see, the Xtreme Lip Creams are quite pigmented. I love the the pigmentation and the texture, because I am able to achieve full coverage with a very thin layer. I find thin layers of lip product to be the most comfortable to wear, plus a thin layer is least likely to migrate outside the lip line and more transfer-resistant (though these do not really dry down, and thus they do transfer).
It’s also worth talking about my least favorite thing about the liquid lipsticks — the scent. It’s sort of plastic-y and unpleasant, though it does fade quickly. It’s not enough to keep me from really enjoying the product, but if you’re more sensitive to smells than I am, it may really bother you.
In the lip swatches, you can see that the palest color (Nude Peach Fuzz) settles into lip lines a little bit and doesn’t look great – however, the four darker colors don’t have this problem at all, and look smooth and even on the lips.
Nude Peach Fuzz
Buttery Nude
Bonfire
Spicy
Absolute Red
Another nice thing about liquid lipsticks is that they’re easy to mix to create new shades – just dab a little bit of product on the back of your hand, mix, and apply with a lip brush!
Do these Xtreme Lip Creams look like something you’d be interested in?
Black Radiance Perfect Tone Lipstick Review & Swatches
Black Radiance Perfect Tone Lipsticks are one of the drugstore’s true hidden gems. Black Radiance is made by Markwins, the same company that makes Wet n Wild, and is priced similar to Wet n Wild – these lipsticks are $1.99 each, which is an absolute steal – if you dressed these lipsticks up in better packaging, you could easily sell them for $30 a piece.
And, let’s take a minute to talk about my least favorite part of the lipsticks – the packaging. It is pretty much what you’d expect for a two dollar drugstore lipstick, but it does leave much to be desired. The lipsticks don’t fully retract into the bullet, so it’s easy to nick them. The shade name is not on the bottom of the tube — it’s only on the shrinkwrap, and only the number is on the bottom of the tube. On the positive side, at least the lipsticks are shrinkwrapped, which I think is ideal for drugstore products; it’s not as wasteful as having cardboard packaging, but it lets you know if someone has opened the lipstick (nothing prevents determined people from opening drugstore products, so my main goal is just to be able to determine if something has been opened or not).
I only own three Black Radiance lipsticks so far, but I will definitely be buying more! The three shades I own are 5005 Sahara Red, 5010 Brandywine, and 5033 Midnight Glow. All three are very pigmented and creamy, with full coverage in a single swipe. The swatches below are one swipe only.
Sahara Red // Brandywine // Midnight Glow
And lip swatches:
Sahara Red
Sahara Red is a brick red.
Brandywine
Brandywine is a gorgeous deep berry.
Midnight Glow
Midnight Glow is another deep berry; it’s slightly more purple than Brandywine.
My lips were in pretty bad shape when I took these photographs and the lipsticks smoothed out my lip lines significantly. My lips still don’t look perfect, but the lipsticks made them look better, rather than emphasizing the dry spots.
These lipsticks also work very well blotted down and worn as stain – I wear Brandywine like this frequently. They’re quite long lasting, either full strength or blotted down, and not drying at all – perhaps even slightly moisturizing. There’s really nothing I don’t love about the formula!
Do note that Black Radiance can be hard to find in some areas (in Los Angeles, some, but not all, Rite Aid and CVS stores carry it), but it is available online at Drugstore.com. The brand’s own website has a store locator, but do call ahead – the locator is not accurate for the stores in my area.
Overall, I love these lipsticks, and I think you should check them out. They’re comfortable to wear, longwearing, very pigmented, and come in a great range of colors. I’m planning to buy several more, and I’ll post swatches when I do!
Maybelline Coral Burst Blush Review & Swatches
Earlier today, I posted about Maybelline’s new limited edition Color Goes Electric collection for Fashion Week Spring 2013. I’ve purchased just one item for from the collection – the baked blush in Coral Burst, a very vivid orange. I initially though it was matte, but it actually has a satin (low-shimmer) finish.
I haven’t tried a Maybelline blush in a while, and I remember being unimpressed, but this blush surprised me – the texture is quite nice, very smooth and even. It’s very pigmented, and could easily be used an eyeshadow (and I’m sure would be even brighter over primer or a white base). It’s also easy to apply a sheer layer, which is good, given how orange it is!
I applied this in the middle of the afternoon today, and it seems to be wearing fairly normally, not fading faster or slower than average.
Overall, this is a fantastic option if you’ve been looking for an orange blush at drugstore prices. The color certainly isn’t for everyone (and I admit that I don’t see myself wearing it frequently), but the quality is definitely there.