Tag Archives: new 2013 drugstore products

NYC Tudor City Teal & Rock The Party Nail Polish Swatches

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nyc tudor city teal swatch

NYC has just released several new shades of both its Long Wearing nail polish (which sells for 99 cents) and its In A Minute nail polish (which sells for $1.99).  I bought two of the new Long Wearing shades, Tudor City Teal and Rock the Party, and I have swatches!

Above, you see Tudor City Teal. It’s a fantastic color, but I did have a little bit of trouble with the application.  It’s very sheer – it requires three coats to be opaque, and maybe even four if you do very thin coats.  It looks streaky when you’re at the two-coat mark, but it does even out.  I also had some bubbles, though perhaps slowing down and waiting between coats would fix that issue. Still, for 99 cents, I don’t mind imperfect application for a color like this – it’s definitely worth it to me!

nyc tudor city teal rock the party nail polish

In the bottle, Rock the Party looks like a green-purple duochrome – there are several similar shades around, including Wet n Wild Gray’s Anatomy.  Because all of those shades are sheer, I suspected that it would be sheer as well, and it is – it really needs to be worn over another color.

nyc tudor city teal rock the party swatch

Tudor City Teal // Rock The Party // Rock The Party over black creme //
Rock the Party over Tudor City Teal

The nail wheel above has three coats of Tudor City Teal on the first nail. The following three nails each have two coats of Rock The Party (over nothing, over black, and over Tudor City Teal).

Rock The Party has a nice formula – very thin and even. It does have a tendency to pool at the tips, so it’s best to wait for one layer to dry a bit before adding a second layer, but really I have no complaints (especially for a dollar).  It’s a fantastic layering shade, and I’d highly recommend it!

NYC Apple Blossom Applelicious Lip Balm Review & Swatches

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nyc applelicious glossy lip balm apple blossom

Next up, we have one of NYC’s newly released products, the Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm, which is a tinted lip balm.  There are several different shades, and I picked out the shade Apple Blossom, which I thought might be a dark pink.

nyc applelicious apple blossom swatch

one swipe // multiple swipes

It’s more of a medium pink, and at first I didn’t see any shimmer (more on that in a minute).  It’s quite sheer, which is what I would expect from something labeled a lip balm.  It smells like apples – it’s a nice scent to my nose, not too artificial smelling.

nyc applicious glossy lip balm apple blossom swatch-2Unfortunately, there were two problems when I applied it to my lips.  First, I didn’t like the color it ended up – it’s just too light of a pink for me.  But, that’s just my preference and that’s just this one shade – it doesn’t mean anything bad about the product as a whole.  However, the balm also felt extremely gritty – like it was full of shimmer, even though I didn’t see any shimmer in it. I examined the balm more closely, and it appears that the outer portion is shimmer-free, but the inner (apple-shaped) part has fine shimmer. I can barely see it, but it feels very unpleasant on my lips and I had to wipe it off.

I don’t know if the other shades have shimmer, but I am quite hesitant to try them, though I do actually quite like tinted balms and these really do have potential.  Have you tried the Applelicious balms? What are your thoughts on them?

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Shadow Stick Review & Swatches

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rimmel scandaleyes shadow sticks

A few days ago, I reviewed the Rimmel Scandal Eyes eyeliners. I love them so much that I decided to try another product from the Scandal Eyes line – the shadow sticks. Like most shadow sticks, you’re supposed to be able to use these multiple ways – as eyeliner, as eyeshadow base, or eyeshadown (worn alone).  There are nine shades available (or at least there are nine shades on the Ulta website - which may not have all of them) and I purchased two, Bulletproof Beige and Bad Girl Bronze.

rimmel scandaleyes bulletproof beige bad girl bronze swatches

Bulletproof Beige // Bad Girl Bronze

Above, I’ve swatched each shadow stick two ways. On the left, I have a heavy swatch, and on the right is a blended out swatch.  If you use the shadow stick as eyeliner you’ll get something more like the heavy swatch – if you use it as an eyeshadow base or an eyeshadow, you’ll get something more like the blended swatch. Unfortunately, even if you use multiple layers, it doesn’t seem possible to build up the color to the opaque swatch level when you’re using it as an eyeshadow.

Edit: I like these enough that I went back and bought a third, Paranoid Purple.  Here’s a quick swatch.

rimmel scandaleyes shadow stick paranoid purple swatch

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Paranoid Purple

In terms of texture, these are very soft and creamy.  I have some of the Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencils, and the Rimmel pencils are noticeably more creamy – the UD ones are much drier and more difficult to blend.  I actually rarely use the UD ones because I have difficulty blending them – I much prefer the Rimmel texture!

I’m sure these will be compared to the Milani Shadow Eyez as well, but I haven’t tried those.  From looking at reviews, it appears that the Milani shadow sticks may be more opaque. I’m not sure how the texture compares. I may need to buy one to compare myself! If you’ve tried the Milani ones, how would you describe the texture?

I’m sure everyone’s main question is how the Shadow Sticks last and whether they crease, and I’m happy to report that they last all day on me (10+ hours) with no creasing at all.  Do note that I have slightly dry skin, so I can’t test how these would fare on someone with oilier skin.

Overall, I really like these – they’re creamy, blendable, and last all day.  They’re good for a sheer wash of color and shimmer or as a base.  The major downside is that you can’t build them up be opaque.

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Rimmel Scandal Eyes Eyeliner Review, Swatches, Photos

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rimmel scandaleyes waterproof kohl eyeliners

Taupe, Nude, Deep Blue

Rimmel released its Scandal Eyes liners in the UK a little while ago, but they are new to the US. They showed up first in temporary displays, which had a only a few shades, but now that Rimmel wall displays are being updated, more shades are available. I’ve seen them in-store at all the major drugstores in my area, and they’re already online at Ulta.com - and only $4.49. Per the Rimmel website, seven shades are available in the UK and ten shades are available in the US. Two of the shades I purchased, Nude and Taupe, are available in both countries, and Deep Blue is US-exclusive.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the US shades:

rimmel scandaleyes shades - US

Let me cut to the chase: I LOVE THESE. This review is going to be a complete rave, I love them SO much. They might even replace Prestige Total Intensity pencils as my all-time favorite eyeliners. I will definitely be buying the black and a couple more shades (and will also be trying out the Scandal Eyes Shadow Sticks to see if they’re just as good!

So, what makes them so great? They are creamy but not too soft (the Prestige pencils do have a tendency towards being too soft).  They are smudgeable at first, but after they set they don’t migrate, smudge, or move.  I tried to smear the swatches on my arm, but was completely unable to – I eventually got them to flake a little, but only after my arm was quite red from rubbing at it! Nude lasts about 5-6 hours on my waterline – I wear contacts, and I’ve never had anything last six hours on my waterline before! And, I get all day wear on my upper or lower lashline.

In the below swatches, the line on the left is a single pass, and the square on the right is a built up swatch. There isn’t much difference, because these liners are very pigmented in one swipe – you don’t need to go back and forth to build them up!

rimmel scandaleyes swatches - nude, taupe, deep blue

Nude // Taupe // Deep Blue

Nude is a peach beige – it’s great to see more shades like this at the drugstore.  Taupe is a light brown – it’s fantastic shade for my lower lashline, as it defines, but isn’t harsh like a darker brown would be. I normally only use eyeshadow on my lower lashline because I find most pencil lines too harsh, but this is very wearable.  I think it would also make a great upper lashline color for light blondes who want a natural but defined look. Deep Blue is a very dark navy blue – gorgeous, and a great alternative to black.

Edit: I love these so much that I went back and bought more! Here are quick swatches of the five shades I currently own:

rimmel scandaleyes swatches - black taupe nude deep blue purple

I also have a comparison of my nude (or again, light peachy beige) pencils – the Scandal Eyes one is a bit darker and more orange in comparison to the others, which are the MAC Pro Chromagraphic Pencil in NC15/NW20 (now available online) and the concealer pencil from the Hard Candy Glamoflauge concealer.

beige nude eyeliner comparison

Hard Candy // MAC // Rimmel

There’s not much else to say – go buy these now! And tell me what you think!

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Sally Hansen New Peptide Lip Smoother & Plumping Lip Primer Review

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sally hansen peptide lip smoother, plumping lip primer

Sally Hansen recently released four new lip care products, which I found in a display at CVS.  I purchased the Peptide Lip Smoother and the Plumping Lip Primer, and I have reviews of both of those for you today.  The display also included an invisible lip liner and a stick lip balm balm, but since I have a Maybelline clear lip liner and plenty of lip balm, I passed on those for now.   Here are images (from Sallyhansen.com) of the items I did not purchase:

Sally Hansen invisible lip liner, full & radient lip balm

As to the products I did purchase – the Peptide Lip Smoother is really interesting. It’s definitely not a traditional balm.  It’s supposed to be “skincare for lips” – and it sort of feels more like a moisturizer than a lip balm. It’s a white, milky fluid when it comes out of the tube, though it does disappear completely when applied. I’m having a bit of trouble figuring out how to describe the texture – I guess it’s sort of like a thick, slightly waxy lotion.

I do find it moisturizing, but it’s not as moisturizing as my favorite lip balms (I usually use Jack Black during the day and Nuxe Reve de Miel at night).  I planned to test it the Peptide Smoother by using it as my sole lip balm for a couple days, but my lips weren’t happy with that plan – I need my other lip balms! That said, I do really like it in combination with my other balms, and I will continue to use it.

Sally Hansen Peptide Line Smoother

The Sally Hansen Plumping Lip Primer is my very first plumping lip product and my very first lip primer.  Let me say first that I like it, and second that if you have sensitive lips, it is not for you! I am wearing it (under a lipstick) right now – I applied it about 25 minutes ago, and I still feel a minty tingle from the plumping action.  It isn’t bothering me – I don’t have sensitive skin generally – but I’d play it safe & skip it if you’ve had problems with plumping products before.  I’m not sure I can detect any plumping action going on with my lips, either.

That said, this is a really nice lip primer. It applies clear (so it doesn’t interfere with your lipstick color), and is semi-matte (so it doesn’t interfere with your lipstick finish – matte lipsticks still look matte).  It’s definitely moisturizing and makes matte lipsticks more comfortable to wear.  My lips are in pretty good condition right now, but I think it also does a decent job of smoothing out lip lines and making my lipstick look better – though I will have to see how it does when my lips are in rougher shape.

Sally Hansen Plumping Lip Primer

The real question is whether it helps my lipstick last twice as long, as it claims, and the jury is still out. I tested it with two different lipsticks (both lipsticks that don’t last very long on me), and with one it didn’t seem to lengthen the wear; with the other, it helped a lot.  I think it may depend on the texture of the lipstick and how it interacts with the texture of the primer.  And, I don’t think that most lipsticks will last twice as long – but some will last an extra hour or so with the primer.  I’ll continue to test it out, and I’ll update this post if I have any further thoughts on it.