Showing posts with label makeup. Show all posts

WNW Going In The Wild Review

| Published 3.11.2013

Disclosure: All makeup products bought with my own money. No one/company will ever influence any review I give. :D

Wet N Wild, as you all know, is one of my favorite cheap makeup brands. They're 8 pan color icon palettes are always amazing. Super pigmented, and under five dollars. You really can't go wrong. I heard about the new limited addition palettes, "Going In The Wild" and "Nude Awakening" awhile ago online, but they finally just hit my local Meijer. The following Review is for "Going In The Wild".


The packing is super cute in comparison to the regular eight pan case. This is white as opposed to the normal black palettes. With fun white spring flowers. It comes with a pretty worthless applicator, that I never use. Once you start using decent makeup brushes, you can't help but realize how awkward it is to use the tiny applicator most drugstore eye shadows come with.

As far as the formula goes, it's pretty on par with the rest of the eight pan collections. Mostly Pigmented (although I would say a little bit less than a normal palette), easily bendable, if a bit powdery. These, like most eye shadows, work best with a primer.* You do have to build up certain colors, the light purple is kind of sheer for my liking. The mint color on the other hand is one of the most pigmented ones in the group.

I tried to find lighting for the swatches that would be as true to color as possible. Harder than it sounds.
As You can see, the primer really picked up more of the pigment and glitter than without. The brow bone colors are basically sheer, which while practical, was kind of disappointing. I rarely apply the eye shadows as they prescribe. I was hoping the right side brow bone color would be a way more pigmented than it was. In fact, I feel like this palette is over all kind of less pigmented than the normal collection. It might be intentional though. When people think spring, they think lighter. For under five dollars though, it's a good purchase overall.

It doesn't look bad paired with the rest of the colors on the right side though. Here I applied them as the company intended. (Right Side Colors)
Wearable and pretty springy! I did try out the left side purples yesterday as well, and I think I might like that look better, I'll post some photos tonight. 

Have you seen these popping up anywhere? What do you think? 
I also have the Nude Awakening palette  which seems to be an attempt of a dupe of the UD Naked palette. Should I review it? 

*I've been using Urban Decay's primer potion since I started using primers. Wet n' Wild released their own version recently which I tried. While the primer feels a bit strange when applied (much more oily than UD), I think it might work better than UD in my situation. I have very oily eyelids as the day goes on, and had no creasing at all! In fact I was painting and had to take a shower in the middle of the day to get paint out of my hair. I tried my best not to get my face wet, but it was still pretty steamy. My eye shadow looked great when I got out, I was really surprised. I will say you need to give the WNW primer a bit of time to set before you apply anything to it. But overall it worked great. At less than 1/3 the price of the primer I normally use, I'm willing to make the switch. 

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Wearable Blue

| Published 2.28.2013

     So since it went over well last time I posted about makeup, maybe I can get away with it another time? How about some blue eye shadow  Now I know for a lot of people, when you talk about blue, you get a few images in your head.

     First I automatically think of Mimi and her really garish, unblended, to the brow shocking blue.  The second thing I think of is really frosty, still to the brow, 1970's blue. Always accompanied by feathered blonde hair. Both of these looks are really dated and unwearable. Well I mean more power to you if this is your thing, but I'm not sure if it would fly so well at my office. 

     I decided to try and tackle a blue that was wearable. I've seen a lot of palettes popping up with fresh bright spring colors. Seeing as it's really horrible here in the Midwest this week, I figured something that called to spring would help perk up my mood a bit. Here's what I came up with. 
     I kept it far away from my brow bone, and because I have quite hooded eyes, I brought the blue down around my tear ducts and the bottom lash line. My when catch me looking down, or you know just "casually" fluttering my eye lids, you get a fun wash of color. The colors are from the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette, and the Wet N Wild "Blue had me at hello" palette (See the card for placement).

      I kept the liner on the top lids subtle  using a light hand and a pencil liner, using a brush to blend it out into a faint cat eye. I defined my brows and added mascara to curled lashes. For my lips I used Revlon Color burst lipstick in "hazelnut".








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Deep Plum Lipstick Throw-down

| Published 2.06.2013

I love makeup. It's not something I talk about a whole lot on the blog. But since this is my very own space to discuss what I please, how about we talk amongst ourselves? 

I'm a drugstore makeup queen. I love trying new colors and new brands. I'm let down about as many times as I find a product I really like. I thought it would be interesting to have something of a throw-down between several brands of makeup that are similar colors or have similar promises. 

For the first ever makeup throw-down how about plum lipsticks? I actually didn't own any plums, but I have noticed that more and more companies are coming out with deep purples and mauve's. So I went to a few stores and picked up the ones that caught my eye. Yes I know there are many more brands and colors than what I have here. These colors were just the most available and appealing to me. I did pick up a few very light purples, but that's another post entirely. 

Let's begin, shall we? 


      
For reference here are my lips with no lipstick. You'll have to excuse the rats nest I call my hair.

Let's begin with the most expensive lipstick shall we? Coming in at 12$, this is the Sephora brand creme rouge in #23  crush. The color is awesome, which makes me really sad that the formula is so so horrible. It's waxy, and even though it photographed a bit better, didn't apply evenly (Can you see that patch on my bottom lip?!). The color stuck to my lips in patches. I've heard people also use this lipstick as a stain. You would really have to work it into your lips for that though, I tore up mine as it was just trying to apply it regularly. This is definitely a loser. I noticed that this is no longer carried online. I wonder if they're reformulating their lipsticks? 


Next up we've got the Milani Lip Flash Pencil in "In a Flash". This as you can see is crazy bright. It's full of micro glitter as well, so it definitely catches the light and flashes. It was about 6$. I like the formula a lot, and there's definitely some fun novelty in Lip Pencils for me as well. It goes on a bit sheer, but is very build-able. It's one of the least wearable, most neon colors, of the group. I could see myself wearing it for a night out, but not so much the office. The only drawback I can see to this pencil, is how the hell I'm going to sharpen it. It's really chunky and doesn't fit in my regular sharpener. I didn't see any matching sharpeners at the drugstore where I purchased this though. I know I could probably find something at an art supply store, but that seems like poor planning on Milani's Part. Overall though I really like this pencil. It's not my favorite of the group, but very fun! 

This is Covergirl Lip Perfection in "Embrace", which was about 6$. I'm not really a Covergirl buyer at all. It was one of the first makeup brands I was allowed to wear, but I'm not a huge fan of the scent all their cosmetics seem to have. I actually really like this lipstick though. The formula is great! It's creamy and hydrating, and goes on very smoothly and evenly. It has a bit of a douchrome with blue undertones. It'll make your teeth look super white! This is one of my favorites. It's purple, sparkly, but still wearable. I like the new lipstick packaging as well, it feels much more "expensive" than the old CG lipsticks. 


Here, for 5.50$, is Maybelline Color Sensational in "Magnificent Mauve". I love Maybelline's packaging. The lipstick itself is good as well. It is more of a pinky plum though, but really wearable. I feel like this would be flattering on a lot of skin tones because of the pink. The formula is smooth and build-able. Another Favorite. It didn't stand out to me as much as the one that I liked the best, but it's solid. 

I've got a big thing for WNW lipsticks, normally that is. However this lipstick, part of the Fergie Centerstage Collection, kind of blows. I know this is the only one that's bad though, as I own the rest of the collection. The color is D-Vinely Chilly lipstick for about 3.49$. The glitter, which is purple, is so obnoxiously gritty. I felt as if I was dragging sandpaper across my lips. The final result isn't horrible though. It's nice and deep, with good color payoff. I really just can't get past the texture when it's applied. It's giving me shivers just thinking about it. The packaging isn't great either. In the photo above the lipstick bullet is all the way retracted. It's a lipstick pet peeve of mine when I can't bring the lipstick all the way down the tube. I'm way to prone to knick the lipstick bullet when I replace the cap. It's kind of silly that it wouldn't be able to retract, it's almost twice as tall as the WNW megalast lipsticks, which do retract all the way. I don't think I would have brought this had I known about the texture though. That alone makes this a loser for me. 

Last up here's WNW's Megalast Lipstick in "Sugar Plum Fairy" for 2.99$, which I've heard is a very good dupe for MAC's "Rebel". I absolutely love this line. The color payoff is amazing, and they really do last most of the day for me! This particular color is great. It's a very deep plum, which is something I can see myself wearing more. The formula is a bit drying, so make sure you prep your lips before with a moisturizer or lip primer. I find it helps if I start by working the lipstick in the center of the bottom lip to "warm" it up a bit. It's a matte lipstick also, which I love. WNW Megalast lipsticks are a great way to try shades, because there just so darn cheap. For the price it's completely worth it! 


Winners and Losers

Overall I think the worst lipstick was the Sephora Creme Rouge! Which is a bummer, because it's the most expensive, double what the other lipsticks cost. I hope that they're reformulating their lipsticks, although I don't think I'll give them another shot. I don't really feel like wasting 12 bucks. D-Vinely Chilly would have lost, but at least it was cheap. 

The Winner of this throw-down was CoverGirl Lip Perfection in "Embrace"! It's just a beautiful shade, and an awesome formula! 


What are your favorite plum lipsticks? 



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A Totally Necessary Amount of New Lipstick

| Published 10.24.2012

Source
“I said pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.”  
-Marilyn Monroe  

There's just something about lipstick that makes everything a little more pleasant.  When I've had a shit day, I go home, do my hair, put on some lipstick, and just bask in my own awesomeness. Well sometimes I enter the general populace, but I'm more likely to hermit if I'm feeling like a grump. 

I've been a fan a lipstick, red to be exact, for as long as I can remember. Sneaking it on during the bus ride to freshman year, because I wasn't allowed to wear something so dark, I felt cool. 

I felt mysterious. I felt awesome.

My love affair with red lips is just as strong as ever. 
But I have a confession. I might be a lipstick hoarder. In fact I've added 9 new lipsticks to my collection yesterday alone. 


To my own credit though, they're cheapies. Like 1.99 cheap. I also had a 50% off coupon, which brought them down to a buck a piece. Totally worth it. Plus since it wasn't 20 dollars a lipstick I wasn't afraid to try some new colors. They're the Wet n' Wild Mega last lipsticks, which are the best you can get for that price. The color payoff is great, but the formula leaves a bit to be desired. 

Here's some swatches to show you guys my haul.
My lips, and my Gap. No primer or liner.
I mean really, you're not going to get better looking lipstick for two dollars. 
Side note, Fire & Ice is a Revlon color, and one of their original colors. It's vintage, shall we say? It's a pretty close match to red velvet, the color is a bit deeper red though. I couldn't stop myself from wanting it when I saw this ad on a blog recently. 

source Click to enlarge and take the Quiz! 
Back to the Wet n' Wild lipsticks though, starting with the good points.
  • Great color pay off.
  • Cheap as hale.
  • Very long lasting, made it all the way through dinner.
  • More matte than shiny.
  • Good selection of colors.

Now the not so good
  • The lipstick needs to warm up a bit to apply well. I normally start in the center of my bottom lip, working outwards. It lets the lipstick go on a bit smoother with the friction and body heat. 
  • Dry Formula. I would definitely recommend you exfoliate your lips and apply a moisturizer to your lips before you even think about putting mega-last lipsticks on. Because the formula is rather dry it will show every dry spot on your lip, and will apply really poorly if you're chapped. I have a feeling that the lack of moisturizers is what helps the product last so long though. 
  • Flat top shape. Unlike most lipstick the shape of this is flat instead of slanted. It's kind of annoying to apply to your cupids bow where a taper would help a lot. You could always apply with a brush to avoid that though. 
  • Not all the lipsticks had the color name on the bottom, some just had the shade number. The color name is printed on the packaging that you remove, so that's kind of pointless. 


Overall, and it gets big ups for the price, you can't go too wrong with this lipstick. Some people have said that the lighter shades can be a bit chalky, but I didn't find that to be a problem with my light shade(rose bud). It''d be a great way to try a color you wouldn't normally go for. I know that a lot of the colors avaible are mac dupes. Here are some of the dupes for colors I got. 

Purty Persimmion 1.99 - Mac Sail La Vie or Mac So Chaud 15.99
Stop Light Red 1.99 - Mac Russian Red 15.99
Fire & Ice 3.99 or Red Velvet 1.99 - Mac Lady Danger 15.99

What's my favorite color? As of right now it is definitely Cherry Bomb. Maybe I've been watching the craft one two many times, but I think it looks pretty awesome on me. 


Have you found your perfect shade? 

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Essentials

| Published 9.06.2012

essentials

While I consider myself somewhat of a morning person, actually doing things besides drinking coffee and watching the previous day's episode of the daily show are kind of taxing before sunrise. I work in a professional environment though, and it holds me to a certain amount of actually being put together.

I love makeup, and can do some pretty amazing things with it when I have the time or occasion. Working in an office where I don't interact with more but a few people on a regular day has tricked me into thinking I can get away with looking like a bit of a schlump. So it's been my personal mission for the month of September and onward to pull myself together. The above products are the most basic and essential cosmetics for me. If I do three out of these seven I can look about a 100 times more professional.

I myself prefer Clinique products because they are fragrance free, and are one of the only brands that don't make me break out.

So here's, in order of importance, my work day makeup routine.

First I always use a moisturizer after my daily spf. My skin is on the dryer side now that fall is headed our way. A fresh face for the office is best for me. Granted I'm pretty lucky that I don't break out too often. Even when my skin isn't very nice, I don't think I would want to wear a full coverage face to the office. Maybe a bit of concealer if it's really bad.

Second, I curl my eyelashes and use mascara. Even if that's the extent of my makeup for the day it makes a big difference in opening up my face and brightening my eyes.

Third, I keep a peachy mauve color lipstick in my bag at all times. Not only is it an easy color for my skintone to just swipe and go, I can also use it as a creme blush if I'm feeling up for it. While I do some more crazy colors when I'm not at work, I keep it subtle during the day.

At this point I can be done and feel pretty put together.

If I've got time though I do my brows, which makes a huge difference for me. I fill them in slightly and add a bit more of an arch than they have naturally. This really makes my eyes stand out, and brings out a bit more of my bone structure.

If I want even more definition I use a kohl pencil along the top lash-line, sometimes going into a small cat eye, other times not. I like the pencil because I can keep it in my bag and not worry about getting liquid eye liner everywhere. Not that I don't love me some liquid eyeliner, but for me it's not a great fit for work.

Lastly I keep shine papers in my desk. If I'm feeling extra oily some days it's good to have something to freshen up short of washing your face. These are much better for me than a powder, again I'm not big on the caked on feeling a lot of that makeup gives my skin.

Do you have any makeup essentials? Whats your work makeup routine like? 

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