Revlon Standout Matte Balm
A while back, I reviewed Revon’s matte balm ($8.99 at Ulta) in the shade Shameless. I was not a fan; I found that it was somewhat patchy and accentuated dry patches. However, after reading several positive reviews of the matte balms, some of which acknowledged Shameless as poorly performing as compared to the other shades, I decided to try one more shade – and I’m glad I did! Continue reading
Embers Only // Hot Chili // Curry Up // Peppered Amazon
Sinful Colors has released three new collections for Summer 2014, each with a mix of permanent, repromoted, and new shades. You can read all the details about each collection on Nouveau Cheap. I bought one new shade from each collection (plus a repromote), and have quick swatches of them for you today. Continue reading
Hi all! First, a quick note about the blog – I’ve been unusually swamped at work, which means less time for posting. I do apologize for scarcity of posts lately – hopefully everything will be back to normal soon!
Today, I’m going to talk about my favorite face brushes (favorite eyes, brows, and lip brushes are here). I think of my face brushes as being in two separate categories – brushes for powders, and brushes for creams. For powder products, I generally prefer natural hair, as I feel like it picks up product better and distributes it more easily. For cream products, I prefer synthetic hairs, as they’re easier to clean (yet still soft). Continue reading
I realized that I have a ton of products I haven’t ever swatched or reviewed for Project Swatch, so I thought I’d remedy that by doing a couple of posts with lots of swatches! I’m starting off today with several blushes and a few highlighters and bronzers. I’ll say just a few words about each item.
TheBalm How Bout Them Apples
Cider // Pie // Candy // Cobbler // Crisp // Caramel
First, we have TheBalm How ‘Bout Them Apples blush palette ($32 at Nordstrom). I like it, but not as much as I expected to. The texture of these is a bit more slippery than I prefer for the cheeks, and a bit too drying for the lips. Pretty colors though, and definitely wearable on both the cheeks and lips; just not ideal.
Milani Bella Rosa
Next, the new Milani Bella Rosa baked blush (approximately $8 at drugstores or Milanicosmetics.com) is just as wonderful as all the online reviews say. Smooth, pigmented, and blendable.
Milani Hermosa Rose
Milani Hermosa Rose
Milani Illuminating Face Powder (around $9) in Hermosa Rose is absolutely gorgeous in the pan. It’s lightly pigmented and has a very fine, smooth shimmer. I am not sure what I think about the color though – it’s a little too dark for a highlighter for me, but not dark enough to be a true bronzer. I haven’t tried it as blush yet, but hopefully that will work out!
Rose-O-Den-Dron // Elegant Azalea // Pure Petunia // Peach Blossom
Rose-O-Den-Dron // Elegant Azalea // Pure Petunia // Peach Blossom
I really like Flower Win Some Rouge Some cream blush (around $8 at Walmart). You can read my review of Elegant Azalea here. Note that Rose-O-Den-Dron has a different texture than the rest – I don’t know if it’s a quality control issue or what. But, both textures work well – blendable and smooth.
Ticket to Brazil // Reserve Your Cabana
And finally, two of the three Wet n Wild Color Icon Bronzers – Ticket to Brazil & Reserve Your Cabana (around $4 at drugstores, online at Walgreens.com). Both are lovely – smooth and blendable with the best kind of shimmery finishes – but the highlighter, Reserve Your Cabana is especially silky.
Do you have any of these items, or are any of them are your wishlist?
*I purchased all products featured in this post. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.
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Caribbean Cove // Balinese Bay // Moroccan Oasis // Lana’i Lagoon // Mayan Riviera // Brazilian Beach
I apologize for the lack of posts over the past few days – I’ve been swamped at work. I’m hoping to get back to posting every day soon. Today I have quick nail wheel swatches of Revlon’s newest limited edition polish collection, the Haute Rocks polishes, which are supposed to have a “pebbled” texture “inspired by exotic pebbled beaches.”
Quick review: I don’t like these alone (though you might), and I don’t like the “pebbled” texture (though I generally love textures). However, I really love them layered with topcoat added. I bought six of the eight available shades, and have bottle shots of the two I didn’t buy: Continue reading
I find it difficult to write reviews of perfectly adequate products. If I love or hate something, I have plenty to say; when something is acceptable but unexciting, it’s harder.
Rimmel’s Scandaleyes gel liner is fine. The pigmentation is good; the wear is normal for a gel. The texture is acceptable – it’s thicker than the L’oreal gel liners, so I find it a bit more difficult to get a crisp line, but there’s nothing terrible about it.
The included brush is fine. It’s decent for a “free” brush, but it’s a little too firm to be ideal with gel liners – it digs little holes into the gel and gets unevenly coated with liner rather than gliding on the surface of the gel. I may repurpose it as a lip brush.
If you’re looking for a cheap-as-possible gel liner, I’d recommend the Wet n Wild instead – it’s a few dollars less and also a perfectly adequate liner (though it does dry up quickly). If you’re looking for an excellent drugstore gel liner, I’d recommend the L’oreal – it’s a few dollars more, but worth it.
What makeup items do you find acceptable but unexciting?
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