I Love Me Some Hard Candy

It takes a lot to coax me into coming along with you to Walmart. Between the bad fluorescent lighting, the screaming children, and lack of any regard for life shown by the little upside down floating fishies in their tupperwear homes... I just can't do it. But ever since Hard Candy has debuted there (and maybe because I realized there's a Sally's in the same plaza), it's become just that much easier to win my company. At first glance, nothing stood out to me. The tinted moisturizer looked fugly, I don't like to wear chemical laden lip products (don't quote me on this later), glitter isnt really my thing... so the whole Hard Candy at Walmart thing seemed like an epic fail to me. Then I saw the blushes. This has been said over and over, but the first thing that came to my mind was MAC msf's... I had to own one. I first purchased 'Living Doll', which I was skeptical about but ended up being extremely happy with. I later ended up getting 2 more, 'Bombshell' then 'Honeymoon'. I do not know what people are talking about when they complain about pigmentation of these blushes. I have to be extra careul with application as they are extremely pigmented for me, and not packed too tightly at all. I use a mac 116, sweeping the blush first on the side of the brush, patting it on, then buffing out with either that same brush or the 109.


First off, I love the packaging. It's really sturdy, not to mention adorable. No cheap blue plastic here. For seven bucks, 8 grams of product isn't too shabby. I'm normally weary of dome shaped powders, as they seem to magically dissapear within a month, but these are not like that at all. I've been using them all month and you can't even tell they've ever been swiped with a blush brush.

Here they are (swatched heavily):

Living Doll is a scary fuschia in the dome, but a really pretty sheer pink on application. I'm not sure I can see the effects of the golden yellow veining on my skin.. it just seems like a one dimentional pink to me. But it is gorgeous nonetheless and looks great with pink glosses. The finish is such a pretty sheen, shimmery without being too over the top or glittery. As good as can be expected of a well-made baked blush.

Bombshell is probably the best proof of the lesson to not judge a book by its cover. In the pan, its medium brown with hot pink veining. On the skin, it has become one of my favorite shades of blush that can be used in a multitude of looks. It gives a bronzed color, with enough pink to register this as a definite blush, not bronzer (although it may seem so in the picture.. I swear it has way more pink on application!). I always use this blush when I'm using browns and bronze colors on my eyes. It looks equally stunning with pink shadow, when used sheerly.

Honeymoon is a light peachy pink, with purple veining. I bought it to use as a highlighter, but on my skintone it doesn't highlight enough for me. I like to use this over bronzer, it's sheen and subtle pink tone makes my bronzers look really wow.

These blushes retail for $7 each.

The ingredients listed are: Mica, Talc, Mineral Oil, Dimethicone, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben.

The company does not test on animals :)

I've searched for swatches of these blushes, and there don't seem to be many, so hopefully these help you guys. I'm genuinely happy I found these, and I'm eyeing the line's bronzers next...

Sephora Haul

I've been realizing lately just how much make-up I've accumulated over time that I don't even use. Whether it be from gifts, something I couldn't resist because of a good deal, or whatever.. I have so many shadows and lipsticks and glosses,the area I'm really lacking in is the basics. Eyeliner, primers, things of that sort. So I did a little shopping at Sephora recently and picked up these goodies:

I got Urban Decay's 24/7 liner in Zero, Benefit Boi-ing in 'Medium', Tarte's primer, a Josie Maran lip palette that was on sale (I couldnt resist), along with some samples I could test out. The lip palette and concealer not pictured were big dissapointments for me, so I took them back.

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencil

I don't wear black eyeliner often. I usually opt for brown or no eyeliner at all. I've tried the other UD eyeliners and loved the pigmentation and texture, and this is no exception. These are really pigmented, which I appreciate. The second picture shows how it held up after I allowed it about 30 seconds to set, then did a rub test. This is definitely a pencil you can smudge out, which makes it good for smokey looks. You can get a precise line too, but I'd recommend setting with black shadow as these do smudge. As for staying power... no pencil liner stays on my water line for more than 10 minutes. I'm serious. I don't have oily lids, or get teary eyed easily. The liner does not smudge or run and give me raccoon eyes. It simply dissapears. With a layer of black shadow, liner dipped in blacktrack fluidline, and another layer of powder to set... I'll get an hour of black-rimmed peepers. I know other people who use this say it has great staying power, so I'd trust that opinion more than mine.

Benefit Boi-ing

Where do I start with concealer? I, like most, am still on the search for the perfect (undereye) concealer. Why is it like that, seriously? It can't be THAT hard to create something with ample coverage and decent texture. Many a brand has one or the other down, is it really so imossible to have both in an undereye concealer? I've tried so many different ones, and they all leave my under-eye area with a greyish cast. Corrective concealers are always overly creamy, and look terribly cakey when set with powder. Well, I was hoping getting this cult classic end my search. Well, it didn't. At alll. My shade, 'Medium', worked fine with my foundation color, but I could not, for the life of me, get it to look decent. Under foundation, over foundation, under and over.. it was terribly blotchy, and didn't even give me semi-decent coverage, let alone "industrial strength" concealer coverage. I know they've changed the formula, which is probably to blame. I'm so dissapointed :/

Tarte Clean Slate Primer

I like Tarte, as I love natural make-up and prefer to wear it most days of the week. I've heard nothing but praises sung about this primer. I know its said that silicone can't actually cause us to break out.. nonetheless, I was convinced my old primer was the cause of some pimples. I took the plunge anyway and chose this over Korres's silicone-free primer, which I read reviews for, and the popular opinion is that it feels more like a moisturizer than a primer. I'm happy I did, as this really does deliver. You get .16 ounces more for $6 less compared the Smashbox, plus the benefit of not slathering your face in propylene glycol every day! I couldn't be happier. This makes my foundation last all day, no more patchy red spots. I also love it for days I go sans foundation. I dab a little under my eyes, follow with concealer, and it makes it lasts through the whole day I spend lounging around the house with my boo.

JOSIE MARAN "MY FAVORITE LIPS" LIP PALETTE
This little lip palette was the biggest disappointment. It's about the size of a credit card, and includes 4 glosses and 4 lipsticks. The glosses are completely sheer on my lips, and leave nothing but a hint of sparkle. As for the lipsticks, all but the fourth red one are a similar ugly brown tone on me. The worst part is the smell. I used to think I couldn't be bothered by funky smelling cosmetics, but I've realized I'm extremely particular about how my lip products smell. These smell plastic-y and horrible. Even as I sit now with the palette open a foot away from my face, that smell is creeping up... needless to say, I'll be passing it on. No wonder it was on sale for half off.

The samples I got were Fresh Soy Face Cleanser, Benefit's new 'Stay Don't Stray', Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Cream, and Pangea Organics Balancing Oil.

Forgot to add these guys to the haul pic:

RECAP:

Fresh Soy Face Cleanser is a gentle cleanser that claims to remove dirt and makeup without irritating the skin, or stripping it of it's natural oils. It emulsified nicely upon application and smelled really good to me, though I can see some people not liking it. It smells like what you'd expect.. soy. It didn't remove all my makeup, which I found out when I followed up with toner. It did get off more than my other cleansers do though, and did the job without making my skin feel tight afterwards. In combination with a moisturizing toner, I was able to skip moisturizer and my skin really did feel smooth as a baby's.

Bliss Triple Oxygen blah blah Cream seems like, as with all Bliss products have seemed to me, a waste of money. I mean, it's $54 for the full size. The sample had .34 fl oz, and lasted me about three weeks... and to be honest, I felt like I was spreading watered down yogurt on my face. I don't know if it's because this is probably more targeted towards mature skin, but I just didn't see a difference. The mask is supposed to "recharge dull skin", but I didn't find it gave me any sort of brightening effect. And on top of all that, it did not moisturize well at all. And I have combo skin. I would not recommend this as a moisturizer for dry skin. And seeing as how it's supposed to be good for mature skin, I'd expect it to be way more rich. Chronic dry skin = wrinkles.

Pangea Organics Himalayan Geranium & Pomegranate Balancing Oil is marketed as a natural balancing oil with antioxidants and other anti-aging properties, as well as a moisturizer. It claims to reduce acne scarring and sun damage, with "Tamanu Oil" antioxidants. Sweet almond oil is good for reducing the appearance of spots too. But anyways, on Sephora's site, they suggest adding a drop to your night cream for added moisture. I mixed a little on the back of my (clean) hand with the Bliss cream, applied it, and fell in love. The oil made the cream more spreadable, and the effect afterwards was amazing. I really did have glowing, clear skin that felt moisturized through the next day. I've also been using it around the eyes at night, since it's completely non-greasy. That area tends to be dry and irritated, and this oil is the best thing I've used so far for angry red patches in the corners of my eyes. The full size, which contains one ounce, costs $50, but you need so little I really think it could be worth it. Oh yeah, and the smell is divine.

Benefit Stay Don't Stray is primer than can be used under concealer and under eyeshadow. I didn't use it as a eyeshadow primer, since I prefer to use colored bases, but I did use it as an undereye concealer primer. The product is a pigmented concealer color itself, and I bet some could get away with this alone on the undereyes. Not me though, I need some color correcting in that area. Besides, the finish is soft or chalky. As a primer for my concealer, I did notice a slight difference in the one eye I used it on at the end of the day. Not enough to make me go out and drop the $24 I think it costs.

(All images other than own courtesy of Sephora.com)

Napoleon Perdis and Pixi Do Target

I've always noticed the new upper end make-up displays at target, but never spared the time to check them out. Finally last weekend, leaving the boyfriend at the video game display to play madden or whatever, I was able to really examine what the lines had going on. I ended picking up the Pixi Lumi Lux eyeshadow pallete, NP Set Lip Stain and Plumper, Pixi Eye Zone Brightener, and NP Set Eyeliner in 'Mexico City'. I also grabbed Sonia Kashuk's loose powder, but I'll get to that later. As far as Napoleon Perdis and Pixi are concerned, the most interesting thing to me is the prices actually attracted me to the products rather than turning me off of them. I guess I'm just a sucker. It hit me later that for those prices, I could be in Sephora. To clarify, these are not chemist brands that make drugstore quality make-up, there are real faces behind the labels... but in my opinion, most of the items do not compare to higher end make-up. I ended up keeping none but the eyeshadow pallete, which I think has some potential. So I apologize for the lack of actual pictures of the products,except for the eyeshadows ;), but I don't think they're really even worth it, because they didn't work out well for me.

NP SET LIP STAIN & PLUMP

I wanted to like this so bad, I really did. It comes in two colors: 'Star', a sheer peachy coral color, and 'Moon', a cool light pink. I got Moon. According to the website, these contain Flax Seed Oil, a moisturizer, along with Acai and Pomengranite extract, which are antioxidants. To plump the lips, these use Capsicum, which is actually what peppers contain in them that makes them spicy. Also, these don't have any parabens. As far as a lip stain, it did leave a pink-ish flush on my lips after the glossiness faded, but it was not that much more pigmented than my regular lip color. The stain completely faded after about 2 hours. As far as plumping, it did plump up the area around my cupids bow a bit (the curve in the middle of your upper lip), but when I asked the people who knew me well, they said they didn't notice a difference. The burning sensation was more noticable than with the Sally Hansen lip plumpers, but nowhere near Too Faced Lip injection glosses. I liked these overall, I thought they made my lips look good. Subtly plumped, with a pretty light pink sheen. But for $15, which these babies retail for... they just didn't deliver enough to justify the price.

PIXI EYE ZONE BRIGHTENER

The funny thing with this is I actually bought it by mistake, thinking it was $14 because of where it was placed...come to find out it was actually $24. Now, this product seems to be marketed as a treatment AND cosmetic. I bought it hoping it would work well under concealer and brighten up the under eye area, but when I actually read the instructions it said it could be used after moisturizer... like a treatment. It seemed to be more targeted at women with mature skin, so I can't actually speak for its properties in this area. But as an under eye brightener, it didn't do anything at all, as concealer totally covered it up. The only thing I could really imagine doing with it is using it as a highlighter, but it seems the skin soaks it up, so its effects this way would be short lived.

NP SET EYELINER
The last of my rejects pile, this liner was a last minute buy. These come in 5 colors, of which I grabbed 'Mexico City', a dark, neutral (in my opinon) brown. According to their site, these have Jojoba Oil, which we all know is extremely moisturizing as it mimics the skin's natural sebum. This was not a terrible eyeliner. It was definitely creamy, and didn't drag. It was packaged well, like a high end pencil, not a yellow #2 from grade school. It stood up well to its competitors in high end stores. The only problem I really had with it was staying power on the water line, but I have this problem with every single eyeliner. The real issue I had was, once again, the fact that I could buy something for around the same price from Sephora. I mean, these go for $19! That's two dollars more than UD's 24/7 pencils! Not only that, but the 2 have the exact same amount of product: 1.2 grams. I'm not a brand snob by any means, and I know Napoleon Perdis is a high end make-up line, but this is my thinking: are you really going to pass up on a tried and true to pay more for the unknown? I guess it come's down to convenience. If you live by a Target, and Sephora or ordering online is out of your way, I believe you could make do with this liner. It is a good quality liner, but 24/7's are better in my opinion, not to mention cheaper.


PIXI LUMI LUX EYESHADOW PALETTE
(Note: Swatches will be up soon.)
There seems to be some confusion about this palette, so to make it clear, mine is labeled No.1, although I didn't see a second version on display. I've heard some complaints about pigmentation on this palette. Are you serious?! Yes, there are a few shadows in the clutch that are on the sheer side, but most of the colors are spectacular. That being said, the product info on the box actually states these are meant to be sheer, as the artist's friend inspired her to create a set of sheer, wearable shadows...something along the lines of that. There are 20 colors in all, the lighter pastel colors on one side, and darker on the opposite. They come packaged in a golden, magnetic, flip-open clutch-type palette. I really don't like that the colors don't have any dividers or pans, which makes me paranoid they are going to get all muddy over time, but this hasn't been a problem yet. Also, when closed, the shadows rest one on top of the other, so I'm definitely keeping the plastic sheet that divides them instead of tossing it like I always do. Like I said, I have no problem with pigmentation and I really think all the colors are unique and beautiful. My only issue with the actual shadows is that there is no variation in finish. They all have a sort of satin/frost finish. This is what makes the lighter pastel colors so beautiful and buttery. But using shadows from the palette alone in a look could end up looking kind of cheap, as I think happens when you use only one finish, any finish, for all the shadows in your look. But this holds true for these especially, as those cheapie million-color palette's have the same type of finish as this palette, though not as pigmented nor smooth. The colors in this are still so beautiful, its worth keeping to use with other shadows you have. I'll definitely put up some looks I do with this.


There were a lot of other things that seemed promising, that I even tried out. NP Set's powder foundation seems great, as well as a handful of the line's lipsticks that were creamy and true to color. I was salivating over Pixi's 'Vitamin Lip Silk' glosses. The name really says it all, when I tried the 'Flora' shade on, (I lucked out.. I got to the brand new sampling tubes first) I almost cried having to choose between the gloss and the eyeliner. I ended up choosing the liner 'cause I have so many lipglosses! But the formula was to die for. It left my lips soo smooth. I can't even say anything about lasting power, because all the way home I couldn't stop smacking my lips together. I know that wont have been the last time you'll catch me perusing those displays!

(All images courtesy of Google)