Category Archives: Limited Edition Collections

Wet n Wild Walking the Red Carpet & Flirting at the After Party Spring 2014 Eyeshadow Palettes: Review & Swatches

Purchased – No Affiliate Links

Wet n Wild recently released a limited edition collection for Spring 2014, called “The Style Award Goes To . . .” The collection includes six Megalast nail polishes (I swatched two of them) and two 8-pan eyeshadow palettes, which I have for you today.

Frankly, I hesitated to buy these. Wet n Wild used to have a fantastic eyeshadow formula, but many of their latest released (such as the permanent 5-pan eyeshadow palettes) were not up to par. However, after posting a  on Instagram and receiving several comments that these eyeshadows are the old, good quality formula, I caved. And I’m glad I did! I don’t think these eyeshadows are  as good as the best of Wet n Wild, but they’re decent palettes with a few stand-out shades.

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Wet n Wild Valet Tag & Silver Lining Spring 2014 Nail Polish Quick Swatches

Purchased – No Affiliate Links

As you may know, Wet n Wild recently released two 8-pan palettes and six Megalast nail polishes, all limited edition.  Here’s a shot of the collection from my Instagram.

I haven’t decided yet whether to buy the eyeshadow palettes, but picked up two of the polishes – the others (seen here on Nouveau Cheap – note that her bottles and my bottles have switched shade names) are too frosty for my tastes.

Valet Tag // Silver Lining

Valet Tag is a taupe with silver shimmer, opaque in two coats. I had hoped the shimmer would be more visible, but I can barely see it on the nail.

Silver Lining is a VERY sheer grey with blue and pink shimmer. It’s lovely, but this is about five coats, and I suspect six would be needed on the nail if you wanted it to be opaque.  It’s better for layering.

I accidentally made the above photo too small – sorry – but you see Silver Lining alone, over black, over purple, and over a steely grey.  I like it best over the grey.

Have you found this new collection, or are you still looking for it?

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Milani Spring 2014 Coming Up Roses Blush Swatches & First Impressions

Purchased – No Affiliate Links

Last summer, Milani released four rose-embossed blushes and I bought & reviewed two of them – I was not impressed. So when I found this year’s set of four blushes, I thought I’d skip them. Luckily I posted a on Instagram and several people commented that this year’s were worth it. I ended up deciding to buy all four. I haven’t had a chance to really play with them yet, so today I have swatches and my first impressions.

First, here are too many photos of the blushes in the pan. They’re just so pretty.
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Maybelline Dare to be Nude Color Elixir Review, Swatches, Comparison

Purchased – No Affiliate Links
Maybelline Dare to be Nude Color Elixir - Charming Cocoa - Almond Aura

Charming Cocoa // Almond Aura

As promised, I have a review of two Color Elixir from Maybelline’s new limited edition Dare to be Nude collection. The collection includes six of the glosses – all limited edition – and I picked up Charming Cocoa, a red-brown, and Almond Aura, a creamy mid-tone nude. When I swatched Charming Cocoa, I realized that it was quite similar to Intoxicating Spice – which I love – so I have all three swatched side by side below, as well as lip swatches of all three.

Maybelline Color Elixir Comparison Swatches - Intoxicating Spice - Charming Cocoa - Almond Aura

Intoxicating Spice // Charming Cocoa // Almond Aura

Maybelline Intoxicating Spice Swatch

Intoxicating Spice

Charming Cocoa

Almond Aura

I’ve now written about the Color Elixir glosses twice (initial review // reviews revisited) but to recap, they have a comfortable non-sticky cushiony-gel texture; they leave my lips soft and moisturized and they’re very flattering – lip lines are minimized and lips look fuller. Pigmentation level varies significantly between shades, from semi-opaque to quite sheer. They don’t last very long on me, but I don’t mind reapplying.

Here are the six shades of Color Elixir I currently own:

Maybelline Color Elixir Swatches

Signature Scarlet // Intoxicating Spice // Charming Cocoa // Almond Aura // Caramel Infused // Amethyst Potion

Have you purchased anything from Maybelline’s new Dare to Be Nude collection?

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Revlon Fifth Avenue Red Vintage Lipstick Review & Swatches

Purchased – No Affiliate Links

Revlon recently rereleased five “vintage” discontinued shades from the Super Lustrous lipstick line. The rereleased shades are (sadly!) limited edition this time around. I really like the Super Lustrous lipsticks – they are creamy, comfortable to wear, and have no scent. Note that the creme finish Super Lustrous lipsticks are different from the previously reviewed Super Lustrous Shine lipsticks (there are also shimmer/frost finish & matte finish Super Lustrous lipsticks – I don’t own any of the shimmers, but the mattes are great).

The five rereleased shades are, as you see above, Icy Violet, Snow Peach, Sandstorm, Fifth Ave Red, and Jungle Peach. I found a full display, but only one of the shades called to me – Fifth Ave Red. And it is a fantastic red! The color is gorgeous, a deep true red – and the formula is as good as I expect the Super Lustrous lipsticks to be.

Revlon Fifth Ave Red – it has no sparkle, it’s just the way the light reflecting back.

Revlon Fifth Ave Red – this is the most color-accurate swatch.

The lip swatch above is more color-accurate than the partial face picture below.

This swatch is slightly less color-accurate – it’s a bit washed out, but I wanted to show how it reads on the face.

Did you pick up any of the rereleased / vintage shades?

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Essence Beauty Beats (Justin Bieber) Collection Blush & Highlighter Review, Swatches

Purchased – No Affiliate Links

Essence releases a ton of collections is some countries, but just a few in the the US. They recently released a Justin Bieber themed collection called Beauty Beats. I am not a Bieber fan (Baby is catchy, I guess? I can’t name any of his other songs), but I am an Essence fan, so I bought three items – the blush, highlighter, and one of the glosses. Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced the gloss in my recent move, so I don’t have swatches of it today. It’s pretty much clear with sparkles, though – not the most exciting thing to swatch, though it looks great (and green!) in the tube. I do have this picture from my Instagram which includes the gloss.

The blush is named Groupie at Heart, and is a gorgeous watermelon pink. It is imprinted with the word boyfriend – I have absolutely no idea why – and it blends easily, but does kick up some powder.  It has a really lovely almost-satin finish – it’s basically matte, but not a flat matte. I would highly recommend this if you can find it – and at around $3, it’s a total steal.

Essence Groupie At Heart

Essence Groupie At Heart: unblended // blended

The highlighter is named Swaaag and imprinted with the word swag. Again, no idea why.  I was very excited about it because it looks gorgeous in the pan, but I was disappointed to find out that it has large flecks of glitter in it. If it didn’t have the glitter, it would be great – the texture is nice and I like the soft shimmer – but as is, I don’t find it useable as a highlighter for me.

Essence Beauty Beats 2

Essence Swaag

Essence Swaaag in natural light: unblended // blended

Essence Swaaag with blur to show sparkle: unblended // blended

In my region of the US., Essence is only available at Ulta. I am jealous of those of you who have access to more of Essence’s collections!