Product Review: Hard Candy Fox in a Box- Smooth Talker

I bought this on a whim when I was at wal-mart, because it looked really pretty. I am never too sure about Hard Candy products, because they're either really awesome, or really terrible. I decided to take a chance on it because I liked the colors in it.

 The product comes in a box (Obviously, with a name like "fox in a box"), and it has a little brush on the inside. I threw the brush out, because it's tiny, and it's kind of stiff.

The consistency is smooth, but when you put it on the brush, you get a ton of product. It looks nice on, but there is a lot of fallout, so make sure you tap the brush off first!

 

The end result is a subtle orangey-peachy glow.

Product Review: Maybelline Great Lash- Colors

Maybelline Great Lash mascara has been around for a long time. In fact, it's one of the best-selling mascaras of all time. I've been a longtime fan of it, even though it's not necessarily the best mascara out there, because it does everything well, and for $4, with enough coats of it, you'll end up with some pretty awesome lashes. So when Maybelline released two limited edition colors, Green Envy and Teal Appeal, I had to try them out.




Formula-wise, they both have the exact same formula as all the other Great Lash mascara, which is nice. It gives decent volume, holds a curl reasonably well, and adds some length, all without giving you crunchy, spidery lashes.

As far as the colors go, the color is pretty subtle. If you were looking for a very noticeable, bright pigment, you won't find it here, but you will get a nice, decent subtle pop of color. Green Envy is a foresty green, and Teal Appeal is a bold, but not fluorescent teal.

                                               (Left- Green Envy, Right- Teal Appeal)
Overall, if you're already a fan of Great Lash, you'll like the colors, but if you're not, these probably aren't spectacular enough to change your mind. At the low price of $4, they're the best colored mascaras you could probably get. 

Product Review: Tokidoki Prisma Lip Gloss

First off, let me say, these are the most difficult products on the face of the earth to photograph, so these will not do it justice whatsoever, they're really pretty!

I bought Bullets (left) and Rocketeer (right) online for $5 each from Sephora. I had never tried any Tokidoki lip products, but I positively love all their other products that I'd tried, and these were too cute for me to pass up.

The glosses feature a tokidoki character in a snowglobe-like top without the water. Seriously, Tokidoki, why must you make such irresistibly adorable products?!?

Bullets

 Rocketeer

 The formula is a lightly pigmented sheer blueberry flavored gloss. It goes on smooth, but it has a slight bit of stickiness to it, although not enough to bother most of the sticky gloss haters out there. The flavor is pleasant without being overpowering. The main difference between this and other glosses is the applicator. It's a flexible almost silicone-like paddle. It's kind of a different transition from the typical brush tips or sponges, but it doesn't bother me.

Bullets:
this one goes on almost completely clear on me, so there's not much to write about. It's a nice clear-ish gloss, but that's about it.

Rocketeer
This one looks like it would be super dark, but it goes on sheer, so it just has a bit of what Sephora describes as a "sheer deep black red" tone to it. It's pretty, but again, nothing terribly remarkable. The gloss formula is pretty long lasting, so you'll get a quality color, but if you have strongly pigmented lips, it probably will come out pretty clear on you.

Overall, These glosses weren't bad for the $5 I paid for them. If I'd paid their original $15 retail, I probably would have been disappointed though. I'd say pass on them, unless you're a serious Tokidoki collector like I am.

Product Review: Kat Von D High Voltage Eye Primer

I bought one of the Kat Von D "Get the look" kits from Sephora on my epic birthday trip that Kaye Eh and I went on. I'd been coveting it for awhile, because I really wanted the palette, and I was curious about these primers. Finally, I broke down and bought it as a birthday gift. The kit came with both the "skin" and "smoky" colors (there is also a shimmery beige called "stellar" which I don't have).
Here's my thoughts on them in general:

The formulas on both are kind of thick, and it makes it a bit hard to work with. The wand also pulls out a lot of product. If you put it on with the wand, and don't blend it, it will take forever to dry, or you will end up with smudges or creases, so you definitely want to blend it with a brush or a sponge, or even your finger.

                                                       look at all the product that comes out!






Skin:
This is the one I would use most often. It is a bit of a strong color, so one downside is that with light  shadow colors, you have to be a bit heavy-handed to cover it up- at least on me, because I'm pale, and it's definitely more yellow-toned than my skin is.  The upside is, it brings out the subtleties and duochromes in a lot of the lighter shadow colors. It has a lot of coverage, so it definitely makes your shadows look very bold, which is nice. 

Smoky:
I like the idea of this primer, but in practice, it has a couple downsides. First is, you can't use it all over your eye, unless you want to look like you have a black eye. So because of that, when I use it, I have to also use another primer color for the highlight area under my brows. That is slightly inconvenient. The other problem is that it's a lot more noticeable when you make mistakes. You have to take care to make sure you have the same shape of it on both eyes, or you'll end up with Very different eyes. What I do like about it is that it brings a whole new layer of depth to colors. Lighter colors instantly turn sultry, and dark colors just get richer and have more depth. 

Swatches:

  (top- skin, Middle- no primer, bottom- smoky... Left to right KVD in Rehab, KVD in Bellbottom, KVD in Babe, KVD  in Cholita, Smashbox eye brightening quad orange color)

Overall:
While these primers aren't the best primers I've ever used, I do think they're pretty good quality products. They're good it you wear a lot of bold colors. If you do a lot of neutrals and more demure looks, you could probably skip these for a different brand, but the formulas on these are long-lasting, and are overall pretty good, but just a bit harder to work with than some other primers on the market.  

Another really fun purple look

I felt like doing something a little more dressy and elaborate than I normally do. Here it is. The colors from each palette that I used are marked with the green line.

Product list:
Face primer- Hard Candy Illuminating primer
Eye primer- Kat Von D high voltage primer in skin (not pictured... oops!)
Foundation- Maybelline Fit Me! in 115
Liner-
Top- Physician's formula Eye Booster lash growth serum in ultra black (fan out at the edges)
Bottom- Maybelline Define-a-line in ebony black
Blush-MAC blush in Flirt& Tease (applied very lightly with a fan brush, because it's really dark, and I'm really pale!)
Bronzer- Cargo Mini Bronzer in Medium
Lips-
Kat Von D painted love gloss in Homegirl (applied lightly, and blended out)
Rimmel lip gloss in Rhythm (on top of Homegirl)
Face powder- Physician's formula Happy Booster in Translucent
Lash primer- Diorshow primer
Mascara-
Top-Maybelline Great Lash in intense black
Bottom- Lancome Oscillation intensity in Gunmetal
Brows- Kat Von D shadow in Leather
Brow Gel- ELF clear mascara/brow gel duo (not pictured)
Shadows:
Make Up For Ever in Purple 92 (inner corner of eyelids)
Urban Decay Deluxe shadow in Freakshow (middle of eyelid
MAC Matte squared shadow in Fig. 1 (outer corner of eyelid)
Kat Von D Shadow in Skiba- Darker purple marked in right palette(inner side above crease, almost to brows)
Kat Von D Shadow in Babe- Lighter purple in right palette (Outer side above crease, almost to brows)
Kat Von D Shadow in Morphine- Left palette (Blend the cream shadow up to the brows)
Tokidoki Shadow in Candy Cane (on top of Morphine)
Then I attached rhinestones with lash glue to the wingtips on my liner.

 Close up on the eye

Product Review: Tokidoki Sodashop Palette

I've been drooling over this palette since the first time I saw it at Sephora, and I've been doing an excellent job of restraining myself (for once). Well, I was at Sephora the other day, and it was $10, and I couldn't resist it any longer. It was a total steal. 12 shadows, an eyeliner, a super adorable nail file and a magnet set (Which I already covered my refrigerator with) in a collectable tin. Sold.

Initial thoughts: I really try not to get suckered by cute packaging, but sometimes it's really hard, and this was no exception. That being said, I positively love all the other tokidoki products I have, (Robbery palette, various shadows and glosses, makeup bags, plus the iPhone case and a couple charms) so I feel like it's not just me being all "ZOMG! It's cute!"

On to the shadows:
Skull donut is a light, shimmery gold-ish color, that I would definitely use for a highlight color.
Patatino is a light mustardy color with a soft gold shimmer. Pretty, but probably not one I'll use a ton as it will make my skin look washed out.
Riposino is a glittery and shimmery light brown. Very pretty for a jazzed up neutral look.
Ciccio is a shimmery coppery brown.
Mummetto is a matte medium brown. Perfect for a liner or for brows.
Mozzarella is a darker brown with lots of shimmer and glitter
Tulipano is a matte bright mauve. Very pretty
Nancy Rocks is a bold, shimmery bright purple. Kind of like Urban Decay's Flash, but prettier.
Romeo is another Urban Decay dupe, as it is a bold, shimmery burgundy like UD's Last Call. (I like the formula and pigmentation better on Romeo though!)
Ciotolina is a shimmery green.
Arrosto is a shimmery dark grey that is almost black. Very versatile.
Furbina is a very dark purple with light purple glitter in it. It's a very familiar color, but I can't think of what brand makes it, but it's definitely a dupe of something.

The tokidoki formulas are really nice. The shadow is dry and not crumbly, but it isn't so dry that it's hard to get even color and pigmentation. They have a nice color payoff, and they stay looking nice, although you definitely want a primer to get their full pigmentation.

(with primer)

(without primer)



Liner- Perfetto Eyeliner in SANDy
I like tokidoki's liners, and this one is no exception. The color is nice, and so is the formula. It stays put, and it has a decent tip. not too thin, and not too thick, so it allows you a variety of thicknesses. This is definitely one of the better felt-tip liquid liner pens I've tried.

If you can find this palette for the same price, I'd definitely say grab it while you can, but honestly, it's worth the $30 that Sephora has it listed for on its webstore as well.

Product Review: Kat Von D Painted Love Lip Glosses

                                                         Left to right: Hellbent, Lolita, Underage Red, Homegirl

I got these in the epic Sephora haul I did on Thursday, and I'd never tried any of the Kat Von D lip glosses, but I love the eye products, so I figured I'd give them a shot. Especially for $3.50 each.
 The packaging is very nice. The only thing about it I don't like is the matte tube- it made it hard to judge what the product would be like without swatching it. Also, the matte coating comes off the cap. After having it in my pocket for just a couple hours, it began peeling off Lolita already. Not a big deal or anything though. The formula is pretty nice though. They're not sticky at all and they go on pretty well, while being super pigmented. Almost like a liquid lipstick instead of a gloss. Admittedly, I'm more of a fan of lighter colored lip products, so these aren't colors I would immediately choose for myself for daily wear, but I do think I will wear most of them more than once. They have a bit longer of a wear time than most glosses, and stay on for about 2-3 hours without needing to be reapplied.
Hellbent: 

Sephora's website describes this as a "rosy blood red." I like this one, and I think out of the four, this is the one I would wear the most often. It looks good right as you put it on, but I like it better blended out with a clear gloss over it as well.

Lolita:

 
This one is more of a dusty rose, but it is so pigmented that I'm not a huge fan of it. It's not a bad color, but I think it's a bit darker than I usually like my rose-colored glosses.

Underage Red

This one is a very cherry shade of red. It is also the sheerest of the 4. I think it's pretty wearable as-is.



Homegirl

 This is a very dark plum color. On someone as pale as I am. it is very unwearable right out of the tube, unless you're going for a really gothy-type look. But blended with a nice, silvery gloss, it is actually really pretty!

Here's some hand-swatches too.

                                          L to R: Hellbent, Lolita, Underage Red, Homegirl

This week's haul- Epic Sephora sales and the Target clearance rack

Here's what I got:
1.Tokidoki makeup bag ($4. That's madness!) It would be a perfect size for holding my brushes for a trip or something, and it's super adorable, so how could I go wrong?
2. Kat Von D Palette- Angeles- ($24) I'm a big fan of Kat Von D palettes, and this one is no exception, more on this when I review it though.
3.Sonia Kashuk brushes- Multipurpose blush/powder ($5.48) and Eye shadow ($3.98)- These were obviously a part of my target haul. I really like the limited edition Sonia Kashuk brushes. They're pretty sturdy, and don't shed a lot, but they add a punch of color and style to my brush kit without a major hit to my wallet, and they work pretty well too!
4. Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Nail Color- Snappy Sprinkles ($3.48)- I have a severe lack of glittery nail polish in my life, so I'm working on changing that.
5. Kat Von D Painted Love Lip Gloss- Hellbent, Lolita, Underage Red and Homegirl ($3.50 each- Madness! these lip glosses retailed originally for $18 each!!)- I'd never tried any of the Kat Von D lip glosses, but in general, I like most of the products I've tried, so I figured at that price, it was worth it.
6. Sephora brush on eye primer($2.75)- Admittedly, I've only tried a couple Sephora products, but when one of the super awesome employees there recommended it to me, I decided to give it a shot.
7. Tokidoki Sodashop Palette ($10). No, this isn't a typo, it was only $10 for 12 shadows, an eyeliner and a nail file, all in a collector's tin, complete with an entire set of possibly the cutest magnets on the face of the earth. I honestly felt like I'd stolen this, it was that cheap!

Here's a shot of the palettes open.

Yesterday's face haul (drugstore)

1. Jane Oil Free Face Makeup in Ivory- This was actually a re-buy, as I really liked this. It retails for $3.59, and it's sunscreen-free, which is nice, as I frequently get breakouts or allergic reactions to foundations with sunscreen in them. It has nice coverage, and an even nicer pricetag. You can't go wrong.

2. Revlon Photo Ready Compact Makeup in Ivory- Admittedly, I bought this and the other Revlon product because they both had $2 off coupons on them, and they were part of a buy-one-get-one 50% off sale, but I am pretty intrigued by this. Is it powder, or is it liquid, or is it cream? Not sure, but from the swatches I did of it, it's got pretty decent coverage, and it goes on smooth.













3. Revlon ColorStay Aqua Mineral Makeup in Light- I usually prefer more coverage out of my makeup than mineral makeup can offer, especially in the summer, because as soon as the sun comes out, so do my awkward, uneven freckles, but I was really curious about this, so I figured I'd give it a shot, and if it doesn't offer enough coverage, I can throw it in my beach bag, as it's got SPF 13, so even without heaps of coverage, it'll work for a beach day.

Tokidoki Green Look

I did this look using the Tokidoki Robbery Palette (available at Sephora/Sephora.com)

Product list:
Face Primer- Hard Candy illuminating face primer
Foundation- Revlon Mineral mousse in Ivory
Brow Gel- Elf brow gel/mascara duo
Brows- Kat Von D shadow in Leather
Blush- Too Faced blush in Papa Don't Peach
Bronzer- Hard Candy So Baked Bronzer in Tropics
Powder- Physician's Formula Happy Booster in Transluscent
Liner-
Top- Physician's Formula Lash Booster Serum in Blackest Black
Bottom- Maybelline Define-A-line in Black
Lash Primer- Diorshow Lash primer
Mascara- Maybelline Great Lash in Green Envy
Eye Primer- Urban Decay Primer Potion
Eyeshadow:
Tokidoki shadow in Adios- Lash line to crease
Tokidoki shadow in Liberty- Left half of area between crease and brows
Tokidoki shadow in Soya- Right half of area between crease and brows
Tokidoki shadow in Candy Cane- Highlighting up to brows.
Closeup on the eye:

Kat Von D True Love Palette Look

Here's a look from the True Love Palette that I love. I wear this look like, Once a week. It's really easy, and it even holds up when I'm at work all day.

Products used:
Face Primer- Hard Candy Illuminating Primer
Foundation- Maybelline Fit me! foundation in 115
Brow Gel- ELF brow gel/mascara duo
Brows- Kat Von D shadow in Leather
Blush- Tokidoki blush in Momobella
Blush- MAC blush in Flirt &Tease (applied lightly with a fan brush over Momobella)
Powder- MAC Hello Kitty Beauty Powder in Tahitian Sand
Lash Primer- Diorshow
Mascara- Lancome Oscilation in Gunmetal
Eye primer- Kat Von D High Voltage Primer in Smoky(from lash line to just below brows)
Eye Primer- Kat Von D High Voltage Primer in Skin(Up to brows)
Eye Liner(bottom)- Kat Von D Autograph Pencil in Black Metal Love
Liner(top)- Physician's Formula lash booster in blackest black
Lipstick- Viva Glam Gaga II applied very light and blended with clear gloss
Gloss- Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush gloss in mint
Concealer- Calvin Klein in Bisque
Eye shadow-
Kat Von D shadow in lucifer(lash line to crease)
Kat Von D shadow in Cholita (blended over Lucifer)
Kat Von D shadow in Skiba (across remaining Smoky primer
Kat Von D shadow in Babe (Blended from mid eyelid across Skiba)
Kat Von D Shadow in Missy (under brows, in a heavy-ish coat to cover the Skin-colored primer)

Blend the whole thing with a blending brush

Here's a closeup on the eye....

and here's another distance shot of the whole look

Really Easy Sugarpill Burning Heart Palette look

I love this palette, because it's really easy to get a really dramatic look without a lot of work. This is the most basic look, but it has a ton of color, and makes a statement.

Product list:
Face Primer: Hard Candy Illuminating Primer
Eye Primer: Urban Decay Primer Potion
Foundation: Revlon Mineral Mousse
Lips: Kat Von D lipstick in Celebutard
Blush: Cargo in  Polynesia
Bronzer- Cargo in Medium
Powder- Physician's Formula Happy Booster in Translucent
Brow Gel- ELF Brow gel/mascara duo
Brows- Kat Von D Shadow in Leather
Lash Primer- Diorshow
Mascara- Maybelline Great Lash
Liner (lower)- Maybelline Define-a-Line in black
Liner(upper)- Physician's formula lash booster serum in blackest black
Shadow:
Sugarpill -Poison plum (lower lash line)
Sugarpill- Love+ (upper lash line to crease)
Sugarpill- Flamepoint (crease to just below eyebrows)
Sugarpill- Buttercupcake (below eyebrows)

Product Review: Sugarpill Burning Heart Palette

Here's the outside of the palette.

Inside there are 4 different super bold colors; Flamepoint (Matte orange), Buttercupcake (Opaque Yellow), Love+ ( red with a touch of shimmer), Poison Plum (purple with a touch of shimmer)

The photo doesn't really do it justice... These colors are crazy bright. As far as the pigmentation goes, they are just as pigmented when you put them on your eyes as they are in the palette! This is not typical. I frequently find myself disappointed by lots of "bright" colored makeup that goes on really lightly, not giving the bold effects you actually want. Not these a little bit goes a long way, and there's a huge color payoff. The actual shadow formula is nice too. It goes on smoothly, and the shadow is the perfect consistency. It's not too dry, and not at all flaky or chalky, but it's not crumbly either. The palette retails for $ 34, but the colors are so good that this doesn't seem out of line at all. The packaging is cute, albeit a tiny bit bulky, but not overly so.

Bottom line:
If you like bold colors that make a statement, this palette is definitely for you! The colors are bright, and the shadow formula is great.

Homemade Brush Cleaner

I took the recipe from this youtube video, but I had to tweak it a bit, as it uses dish soap, and I am allergic to almost all dish soap and detergents on the market. here's my recipe:

1 cup water
1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
1/2 tbsp Dr. Bronner's soap in peppermint
1/2 tbsp shampoo (I used Redken's Smooth Down)
1/4 tbsp conditioner (I didn't have any leave-in conditioner)
Mix gently and put into a bottle

The only downside I noticed to this formula is that the conditioner made the formula a bit cloudy. It cleaned my brushes well and left them feeling soft and smooth, so it's definitely something I'll make again!

Product Review- Maybelline Eye Studio Color Explosion- Amethyst Ablazed

Here's what it looks like. It retailed at Meijer for $9.49. I would like to say that I have not put this product on my eyes. Nor will I. Ever. For any reason. The colors look really pretty, and with a name like "color explosion" you can't go wrong. right? Well, I'm pretty sure this is going to go horribly wrong. It starts out with four different coordinating shades of purple, silver and pink, which aren't bad. A little on the flaky and chalky side, but still reasonably wearable. Then, it goes horribly wrong. See that glittery atrocity up top? That's supposed to be worn as a shimmery topcoat over the whole thing. My god. It's so soft that when I put my fingertip in it to swatch it, it left a giant dent. I don't even want to know what would happen if you put the included sponge tip applicator in it, or even worse, a real makeup brush. Then, if you put it over the regular shadows, you are left looking like a glitter factory vomited all over your eyeballs, or you are a lost member of the Cullen family. I can assure you that there is no way that this shimmery "topcoat" will stay on your eyes, even with all the primer in the world, so you'll be left with glitter everywhere.

But glitter is fun! Well, yes, but as a contact lens wearer, I can only imagine the horrors this glitter would inflict upon my eyeballs, and I don't really fancy having my contacts resemble disco balls.

Bottom line: The colors in this are really fun, but they're not $9.49 worth of fun. Oh, and skip the topcoat, because it looks horrifying. Save your money for something more interesting.

Here's the swatch:
The bottom color doesn't even show up, just as a light shimmer. The bolder colors show up nicely, but when you put the chunky glittery topcoat over the whole thing, it just turns into a hot, glittery mess. (look at those chunks by my wrist!!!

Shiny gold look

This is kind of a more everyday type look that I wear. Here's the products I used

Primer- Hard Candy Illuminating primer
Powder- MAC Hello Kitty Collection Beauty powder in Tahitian Sand
Blush- Nars- Orgasm
Bronzer- Cargo Medium
Lash primer- Diorshow
Mascara- Maybelline Great lash- Very Black
Brow gel- ELF brow gel/mascara duo
Liner (lower)- Maybelline define-a-line- black
Liner- Upper- Physician's formula lash booster serum in blackest black
Brows- Kat Von D shadow in Leather (Ludwig Palette)
Eye Primer- Urban Decay
Eyes- Kat Von D shadow in Rebekah(True Love Palette)(lash line to crease)
          Clinique shadow in Strike it rich (crease to just below browline
          Kat Von D Shadow in Baroque(Ludwig Palette) (outer half just above crease)
          Kat Von D shadow in Peanut (True Love Palette) (just below brows)
Concealer- Calvin Klein in Bisque (undereye)
Powder- Physician's formula Happy Booster- translucent

Sally Hansen Crackle Polish Review

I bought a few of the new Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat polishes ($5.99) today while I was at work. Let me just say, I was super geeked about them. I bought Antiqued Gold, Snow Blast, Cherry Smash, and Distressed Denim. I was so excited that I literally painted my nails right on the counter. That's right, I was absurdly excited. So here's my review...

1. Antiqued gold- I love the gold color on this one. As far as the crackle goes, it's a tricky balance to get enough pigmentation to show off the gold color, while still getting enough shatter in it. it goes with a lot of colors, which is cool, but it is hard to get the crackle to work well

2. Snow Blast- This one is my favorite out of the four. It goes with literally anything, which is great, and it still shows up even with the thinnest coat needed to make it crackle.

3. Cherry Smash- My least favorite- This one is difficult to get the red to show up at all. It shows up like a thin glaze, so it's not super bold, and it only really goes with a few colors, so it's kind of a waste of money, unless you *really* like red.

4. Distressed Denim- I want to like this, but again, it seems to fall in with the Cherry Smash in the disappointing category. I really liked the way it looked with a shiny copper underneath, but that was about it.

Overall thoughts- For $5.99, the only ones that would be really worth the price would be the black and the white, because they go with anything, but honestly, the other colors, while pretty, aren't really fantastic enough to really make it worth their pricetag. The formula seems to last pretty well, but overall, I do feel a bit disappointed with them as a whole.

Photos in action: