Review & Swatches: NYX Round Lipstick in Haute Melon

NYX Round Lip Stick in Haute Melon contains 4 grams / 0.14 oz. of product and is a bright pink/orange color. I would describe the bullet as a mix between a pink and orange highlighter. 

Don't be scared by the color of the bullet/bottom! It actually goes on quite sheer. It takes a few layers to actually get the color of the bullet. That could good or bad depending on what kind of color you're going for. I'm actually glad that it was sheer and buildable. The only other NYX Round Lip Stick that I have is in Snow White and that lip stick is very pigmented with one swipe. Because this lip stick goes on sheer, my natural lip color peeked through and affected the color of the lipstick. This looks more pink on me. 

De-potting: First Time Experience!

I recently depotted my L'oreal HiP Eye Shadow Duo in Energized and my CoverGirl Cheekers Blush in Pretty Peach to put into my UNII Palette. I think the packaging for the L'oreal HiP Eye Shadow is very bulky and so I wanted to depot the eye shadow to get rid of the packaging. 

I've seen a lot of tutorials of depotting eye shadows, but I didn't find a lot for the L'oreal HiP Eye Shadows. I found one that was helpful, but it involved heat and I didn't want to use heat.

I don't want to call this a tutorial, and so I'll just call this my first experience with depotting with pictures of how I did it. 

What I used:

- Cotton Swabs

- Rubbing Alcohol

-  Blemish Extractor (This sounds gross, I know. Here's a link of what it looks like. If you don't have this, a knife would work. Or even a thin slanted tip stain-less steel object.)

- Towel / Paper to place under everything to avoid a mess

There are a lot of pictures and I'll put that and other details under the "Read More!"

Review & Swatches: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush contains 2.7 grams /  0.095 ounces of product. This product is a balm and a stain. The packaging is supposed to represent the color of the product, but it is only very close to the actual color. This product is a berry color. It's purple that leans red and like a burgundy color. In my opinion, this color is gorgeous. I love it. 

The packaging is made out of plastic and to reveal more product, all you have to do is twist the bottom. There's no sharpening needed! The packaging and product is similar to Clinique's Chubby Sticks and Tarte's Lipsurgence, but I can't compare because I don't have either of those products.

Click "Read More" for the full review and swatches! (:

Target Beauty Bag!

I signed up for Target's Beauty Bag about 2 months ago and I finally got it yesterday. I've looked at some other beauty blogs and I think I got mine pretty late. 

The bag and samples were all free. I just needed to provide my address and e-mail address in a certain time period to receive it.

This isn't really a review or swatches, but this post is just to show what was inside the bag. I found out about this bag from a friend's Facebook.

I really love the bag. It's pretty small, but it holds enough for my basic stuff. The color and pattern is so cute.

Top Left: Garnier Frutis Fortifying Shampoo and Conditioner (Color Shield) samples. They both contain 0.34 fl. oz. / 10 mL of product.

Top Right: TRESemme Split End Shampoo and Conditioner. Both contain 1 fl. oz. / 29 mL of product. 

Bottom Left: Neutragena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF 70. Contains 1 fl. oz / 29 mL of product.

Bottom Right: Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Detoxifying Scrub. Contains 1. oz / 28 grams of product.

A sample of Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait. 

Coupons:

• $1 off Aveeno skin care item
• $1 off with purchase of two Garnier Fructis hair care items
• $1 off Neutrogena sun care item
• $2 off with purchase of two CoverGirl cosmetics items
• $1 off Jergens moisturizer (8 oz. Crema. 16.8 / 26.5 Shea Butter. 21. oz Soothing Aloe)
• $1 off L'oreal Colour Riche lip or nail cosmetics item
• $2 off Nivea body skin care item (Skin firming moisturizer Q10 Plus. Sun-Kissed Beautiful Legs moisturizer. Sun-Kissed Radient Skin Lotion. Good-bye Cellulite gel-cream. Good-bye Cellulite serum.)
• $2 off Olay facial skin care item
• $1 off with purchase of two hair care items (Head & Shoulders. Herbal Essences. Pantene. Aussie.)
• $2 off Pixi designer cosmetics item
• $3 off Revlon cosmetics item
• $1 off Rimmel London bronzer powder
• $1 off TRESemme hair care item

Haul: Thrift Store Shopping!

I went to a thrift store recently and a bought a pair of heels and some ties. 

I bought 10 ties for $5. 

These three ties are my favorite out of the ten.

I don't wear heels that often, but I've been looking for the perfect black heels that are not super tall. I can barely walk in heels and so I want to be as close to the ground as possible while still wearing some kind of heels. 

The heel height is about 1-2 inches. The shoes are made out of a black satin cloth material. I bought these for $8 and I am about a size 6-6.5. They didn't put an exact size on the shoes. 

Here's a bonus picture -- my dog ran over while I was taking pictures of me wearing the shoes. 

** I bought everything with my own money.

Swatches: Lip Product Collection

I used to buy only eye products, but now I'm starting to get into lip products. I started with one red lip product and then branched out from there.

L to R: NYX Round Lipstick in Snow White. Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie. NYX Round Lipstick in Circe.

L to R: Clinique Long Last Lipstick in All Heart. MAC Cosmetics Lip Stick in See Sheer. TheBalm Balm Girls Lip stick in Amanda Kissmylips.

mark. Dew Drenched lip stick in Toffee Caramel (discontinued)

Pixi Lip Blush in Purity and Love. mark Kissink in Red Siren (discontinued).

Benefit Pocketpal Benetint + Gloss

For the swatches and closer pictures of the product, click "Read More."

Review & Swatches: The Face Shop Lovely Me:ex Eyes Eye Shadow in PP404

The Face Shop Lovely Me:ex Eyes eye shadow in PP404 contains 2.5 grams of product. It is a very shimmery burgundy/purple color. This eye shadow leans a bit red in certain lighting. 

I was looking through my makeup at home recently and I forgot I had this. There's a store near me and I bought this almost a year and a half ago. Because it was so long ago, I don't remember the exact price and the online website doesn't state the price. I believe it is about $8. 

The name is a play on "Mix." The eye shadow itself can pop out of the packaging and be put into a custom-made palette that The Face Shop also sells. The eye shadow is not magnetic and instead "clicks" into the rectangular spot the eye shadow lays in. It is very simple to pop out. The single eye shadow packaging has a small window where the color of the eye shadow can be seen. I personally love the packaging and think it is adorable. 

PP404 is soft, but there isn't a lot of fallout. The color is a bit sheer and it is buildable, but not buildable enough to be fully opaque without looking too powdery. My complexion is a medium skin color with yellow undertones. This eye shadow may not look true to pan on me because of my skin color. I wore this eye shadow with a primer and it does show up a bit more. When I tested this product, I wanted to wear it without primer to just test the product itself. 

The color does not stay as vibrant compared to when first applied as the day goes on. Near the end of my day, it does look like a burgundy shimmer across my eyes, but it is just that. It becomes shimmer. 

I would not recommend this to people who do not like a lot of shimmer and those who are older. I have to pair this up with other matte colors because I do not love a ton of shimmer. Otherwise, it is a really nice color. 

Click "Read More" for swatches, my final thoughts, and other details!

Shopping the Stash!

I've been reading beauty blogs lately and some of them mentioned "Shopping the Stash," which basically means taking some products out of all of your products and using it. I've started to accumulate more beauty products than I can normally use and so I want to choose a few products and continuously rotate them out to use more of the things I have. 

Top row L to R: DKNY Be Delicious Eau de Parfum. L'oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Bronzed Taupe. Korres Wild Rose Lip Butter

Bottom Row L to R: Benefit Pocketpal Benetint + Gloss. Maybelline the Falsies Volum' Express Waterproof Mascara in Very Black. Too Faced Shadow Insurance. MAC Cosmetics Lipstick in See Sheer. Inglot Freedom Eyeshadow in 112R and AMC 55. Liquid Eyeliner by Barry M (Black).

Bottom Right: Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse BB Cream

I have all of my stuff in a drawer in a storage thing I got from Target. I don't wear foundation and so that's not in my drawer. I want to finish my Dr. Jart+ BB Cream samples though.

Click "Read More" to see more pictures and descriptions of the products!

Review & Swatches: Inglot Freedom System AMC Eye Shadow #52

The Inglot Freedom System AMC Eye Shadow in #52 contains 2.7 grams or 0.09 ounces of product. At the time this post was written, this eye shadow costs $6. 

This eye shadow is part of the Freedom System, which means that it is in pan form and can be put into an empty palette. Inglot has palettes that can fit these eye shadows, but they can also be placed in palettes like UNII Palettes and Z-Palettes. 

This eye shadow is a medium brown color with gold and red shimmer. The shimmer doesn't really show up, though. When worn, it looks mostly matte until it is closely looked at. The eye shadow is a bit sheer when applied, but can easily be built up to be more opaque. There was no fall-out when I used this. 

I like that it gives a bit of sparkle to the eye and also adds some dimension to the eye because it does look mostly matte on the eye. 

Click "Read More" for swatches and some more information!

Review & Swatches: L'oreal HiP Studio Secrets Professional Metallic Shadow Duo in Energized

L'oreal HiP Studio Secrets Profession Metallic Shadow Duo in Energized includes a pale gold and a brown base with a copper sheen. They are both metallic, thus the name of the eye shadow. The total amount of product is 0.08 ounces or 2.4 grams (0.04 ounces each).

Their website describes this kind of eye shadow as --

Discover the secret for bold, metallic color with a luminous finish. HiP Studio Secrets Professional Metallic Shadow Duos are expertly coordinated to create an edgy, shimmery look. The rich, super-blendable color glides on evenly for hours of captivating, crease-resistant wear.

The top portion of the packaging contains the eye shadows and the bottom has a small compartment to hold a sponge-tip applicator. The applicator is handy for a quick touch-up, but it does make the packaging more bulky than it has to be. 

Supposedly, the darker of the two eye shadows is supposed to be a dupe for Urban Decay's Smog, which is my favorite eye shadow from the Naked Palette. I'll actually compare those two eye shadows after the jump!

Click "Read More" for more details and swatches!

Review & Swatches: Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Birchbox sent me an empty sample of Dr. Jart's Water Fuse Beauty Beam (BB Cream). I emailed them about it and then instead of giving me just one replacement sample, they kindly sent me two! They also included a note with the package.

Click "Read More" for swatches and what I had to say about this product!

Review & Swatches: Inglot Freedom System AMC Blush #58

The Inglot Freedom System AMC Blush in #58 is a matte dusty rose color (The picture I included is a tad bit more orangy-red than the actual product). This pan form of the blush is $10 and contains 7 grams / 0.25 US oz of product. 

I was surprised by the packaging of this product. The Freedom System eyeshadows are in a cardboard box and in a plastic container, but the blushes are in a flimsy plastic container that can be easily opened and closed and both of these are in a a thin plastic bag-type thing. That isn't the greatest description, but there'll be a picture below.

Above is a screenshot of the blush color on the Inglot website. 

This product is soft, and so it can end up being powdery. I didn't buy the Inglot blush palette because I wanted to put this in my UNII Palette, and so I have to make sure to clean my palette every once in awhile from all the powder. With this blush, I would recommend getting one of the Inglot palettes or putting it in a palette small enough to just hold one blush. It gets messy and some of the powder could get into your other products. 

I would recommend this blush for those with medium to dark skinned people. It might be too red for pale skinned people.

This blush does not have a powdery finish on the face. It blends into the skin and looks natural. I would be careful on putting too much blush on your face though because it might actually start to look chalky.

For me, the blush started to fade around 4 hours. I don't wear blush that often and so I don't know if that's a short time, but I didn't mind. I also only put a small amount of blush on my cheeks to avoid looking too red. 

My cheeks naturally flush a reddish / pinkish color and so when I use this blush, it looks very natural on me. My reddish is a bit splotchy, and so this blush made an even flush of one color on my cheeks. When I first saw this, I thought I would never be able to pull off this color. I was pleasantly surprised that with a light hand, I could wear it and it looked amazing. 

Click Read More for more info and pictures