I Missed you last Halloween and Winter... NYX Extra Creamy Round Lipstick in Bruised

How I wish I'd found this lipstick last Halloween or Winter! I would have really enjoyed wearing this dark vampy gothic-style color.Since I'm so into brighter lip colors now, I am keeping this aside for coming Winter. However, this could be a year-round lippie for your wannabe Goth or Wiccan.



NYX's Extra Creamy Round Lipstick is not a very easy-to-use lipstick but they are cheap and they feel comfortable on lips.
For $4 USD, they are pretty easy on the pocket but their easily breakable & very creamy formula makes it a bit difficult to use them. This one I got, was already broken in transit, though it came in bubble wrap and all.




NYX says Bruised is a deep violet but I would say its more of a deep purple with red under tones , very similar to a Black Cherry kind of color.



They are not long wearing due to their creaminess but being a dark shade, Bruised does stain lips a bit. Which is good, if stained lippies are your thing. Now, after trying this out, this is what I feel about the color:

- Not for the faint hearted but then if you are, you wouldn't buy this in the 1st place... but if you bought it hoping this can be sheered out into a wearable purple, I am sorry for you. I couldn't sheer it out, if you did -let me know how you managed that!

- Not something you can apply directly from the tube as the application can easily get patchy. I suggest a concealer brush to get good coverage and even application



- Wear this matte by apply-blot-apply-again-blot-again - this is how I found it best to wear this color. It looks awesome if worn matte. But here is a word of caution - its a terror to remove from lips, if worn matte. Almost as difficult to remove as Lime Crime Velvetines were.



- Line your lips to avoid any possible feathering. This one doesn't but this is not a color you want to take a risk. Also, do your face makeup after your lips, if you're wearing this color as if by some chance it smears, it messes up everything very fast

Applied as sheer as I could with even coloring

Overall: This is not your everyday color. This is something you pull out for a special look - unless of course you're a Full Time Goth :) Formula-wise, probably not the easiest or most comfortable one around,but for $4 I think this is worth the money.

Dear Urban Outfitters - here, take all my money! [ A.K.A my April Haul]

Okay, I am exaggerating.. . But considering that I already bought a lot of stuff in April [check my haul posts here and here, ]I think it was very inconsiderate of UO to force me into spending more $$$ by offering free shipping on any purchase amounts.

Don't you see the devilishness of the scheme? See, if I had to do the normal wait-till-i-find-stuff-interesting-enough-for-$50-&-free-shipping  , then I usually buy like once in 2months or so. But now, it was like, I didn't have to wait. I could just buy goodies as they popped up in the new arrivals page. And they did.

Without much more delay, here are the pics...

As always please let me know if you wish me to review any of the above - I'll anyways be reviewing them in sometime but if you ask, I'll do it sooooon... :)

What Not To Buy: The Body Shop Tea Tree Concealer

Sometimes you see a product and you wonder -why does a reputed brand come up with a product that cancels out the very purpose it was made for! This concealer from TBS is an excellent example of a good product concept being ruined by thoughtless marketing.

You can check this product here They have 2 shades -light & medium; the price is around $10 CAD but TBS has some sale or other, so if you really want to buy this product, I suggest waiting for a sale.

What this concealer is about:

Part of their Tea Tree range, this concealer is supposed to help with blemishes and breakouts. The SA at the store from where I got this, mentioned that this is excellent for the huge zit I was sporting at the time. She kinda enticed me by saying -"Think about it - something that destroys that zit while concealing at the same time -awesome right?" 

This is a low-to-medium coverage concealer. I guess thats why TBS only brought out only 2 shades, cos you can easily blend it in. The scent is vaguely tea-tree-ish but not very pleasant. It applies okay, blends okay and has a e lasting power of 3-4hours.

Why I won't buy this again:

I used this when I'd a huge zit on my face. Funny part was because this is such a low-medium coverage concealer, it didn't help much with concealing. Layering didn't help much as the color was a bit ashy for my skin tone. I honestly couldn't see any difference in the zit because I used this concealer. In fact, in all the times I have used this, I have never seen it do anything great for skin.

But this is not the reason why this product sucks in my opinion. If you're a person with blemishes and acne spots etc on your face, would you prefer to use a face product in a tube form or a stick form? I would always prefer something in tube, where the product doesn't touch the skin from the container. 

This is especially important for a product marketed to be used for some specific skin conditions. Imagine some company bringing out an eye drops where the dropper has to touch your eyes to work!!! How hygienic would you consider such a product to be!

Since this doesn't work any miracles as a skincare product, I classify this as a suitable-for-acne-skin-concealer. However, from a concealer,  I would expect -coverage, lasting power and blend-ability. This one fails 2 out of 3.

Overall: If TBS had put this in a tube, marketed it as a sensitive-skin-safe concealer and added some more shades , I wouldn't mind picking it up cos it blends well and it doesn't feel bad on skin.

TBS had a good idea when they tried to bring out a makeup + skincare product - a good idea, just look how popular lip butters, bb creams have become- but in my opinion, they failed in execution. Some how I feel its safer and better to keep skin care and makeup in their separate lives.

Next time I have a huge zit [god forbid] I am going to use proper skin care and safe makeup instead of trying to find something that does both.

Ipsy: May 2014 Glam Bag "Beauty's Fresh Picks"

I didn't review my April Ipsy Bag - not cos I didn't get it, but cos 2 of the products had issues- the Elizabeth mott eyeshadow was missing & the Dr.Brand tube was leaking. One good thing was Ipsy responded fast and send me something to make up for it - but since it was some stuff I didn't care for - a BH cosmetics eyeshadow sample & another skincare product - I didn't feel that I can do a good review of April bag.

However May month bag is not that impressive either. In my personality quiz I'd mentioned that I am not Pro-eyeshadow or Pro-nail polish. But I have got both. However, it is not fair to grumble too much for $10, so without much ado here are the pics:

 

The bag is okay. No strong feelings about it.

The nail polish from Nailtini - again okay.. nothing great but a color that is pretty universal I guess. 

 

I am not a big fan of skin care products through samples - its pretty hard to review them unless I get a good use. However, this seems to be a fairly decent size one, so may be I can see how it works. 

Hang Ten  has one of the cheapest tackiest looking packaging I've seen in sometime. The colors are fluorescent!  However, I can always use a sunscreen and this has a fairly high SPF so let me see!

 

The color is blah, packaging is so so - but since I was interested in trying out Pacifica products, I am going to test this out. Looks like 2 safe colors, so lets see.

The last item is Avene Thermal Water - which I already have a big bottle of, so again, not excited about it.

Overall - I looked at other product offerings in this month's kit and I cant find anything I'd have preferred over this one. So well, yeah..thats how life goes! :)

Spring Colors: Hard Candy All Glossed Up Hydrating Lip Stain in Chic

I love it when I find amazing products that feel good on pockets as well. So I am very happy to introduce a favourite lip crayon of mine from Hard Candy – their All Glossed Up Hydrating Lip Stain in Chic.

Not having tried many other shades from this range, I cannot really judge very well on the range as a whole. But I do like this one and I hope others work quite as well as this.

Price – around $6 CAD from Walmart.  Hard Candy is exclusively available at Walmart stores and is not available for online purchase from Walmart.ca. 

If you check Walmart.ca here - http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/all-glossed-up/6000096775599 , it lets you add & probably buy the lip stain, but since it doesn’t let you pick the shade, it is almost useless!

This is sad, cos as anyone who has been to Walmart here in Toronto can testify, the cosmetic section is usually a mess. Most of the products are used or opened and you just feel frustrated cos there might be something you love but cant buy cos its all smeared!

Gahhh… I hate when people do this!

Setting aside my frustrations with Walmart’s store management, this is a great product if you can lay your hands on it.

The design is nice and sturdy – the color of the casing matches the lip color as well.

Chic is a coral-peachy nude shade that somehow has enough warmth not to make my complexion go super-dull.

This is one of the few nudes that I can wear without looking like a 2-week-flu survivor.

On swatching and on my lips it comes off with a coral peachy tone but sometimes it looks like it has some hints of pink as well. 

There are no shimmers and since Hard Candy makes no crazy promises as to being long staying or super shiny etc, this happily meets my expectations – which is an average stay easy to use lip product. 

It gives a glossy finish on application but settles down to a more satiny lip butter-ish finish.

I like it that it looks very natural – the stain stays for around 3-4 hours while the glossy finish fades in around 1-2 hours.

Overall, Chic is one great color for a day wear to office or for a day out, this Spring/Summer.

So my advice is – keep visiting your nearby Walmart in the hope that someday you’ll find a piece that is not broken or used.

What Not To Buy: Essence Extra Longlasting Eye Liner Pen

I love Essence Cosmetics. I love eyeliners. I especially love lightweight felt tip eyeliners. I love black color eye liners more than any other color ones. Now that I have established that I don’t have any ulterior motives in bitching about this product, let me do so without any further ado.

I think the price was around $3 CAD. I like the packaging, the felt tip is not too wobbly and not too stiff. In fact, if the product inside made any sense, this would have been an awesome eyeliner. But it is not!

My issues with this eyeliner are very basic – it just does not meet the purpose! When I take the trouble to use an eyeliner instead of a more easier-to-apply eye pencil, it is because I am going for something dramatic and very well defined –like  Cat’s eye or a winged eyeliner. And for that, the eyeliner has to have at the least:

Some amount of pigmentation in 1 swipe – else its going to be a thick line to get a good color!

Even-ness of color swatch – on drying, you don’t want to look as if you tried for a polka dot eye line! 

 A decent lasting power and A Not easily fading formula – its weird to go around with ¾ winged liner 2-3 hours after applying it ! Instead of dramatic, it becomes clownish!

Unfortunately this eyeliner fails in the above 3 factors, which makes it a useless purchase. Lastly, when I buy an Black eyeliner, I expect BLACKKK line, not a dull faded blackish brownish something-ish color.  

So overall, I really didn’t care for this eyeliner at all. I might as well take a bit more trouble and go for a gel eyeliner, than struggle around with this one.

Tricks  in getting this to work:

Option1:

This is something I have done in past.

Keep the eyeliner pen [cap on] under warm tap water for 5mins.

Leave the eyeliner standing with the cap facing down on a pen stand for 1-2 hours.

This will help in bringing some of those color to the pen nibs, making it easier to get some definition.

 

Option 2:

This method is best if the eyeliner pen is almost dried up and if you still wish to use it instead of going around with a  brush & gel eyeliner.

Keep the felt liner tip under warm water for 2 mins.

Press the tip onto a paper napkin to absorb excess moisture. Don’t make it too dry.

Dip the tip lightly into the gel liner pot.

To avoid getting weird or unwanted thick  lines, start lining from the middle of the eye.

If you’re doing a winged eyeliner, keep the tip under the warm water for 3-4mins and leave a bit more moisture before attempting to get the line right.

One way to avoid getting smears [which may happen with this method] is to see the effects on your hand 1^st before applying directly on your eyes.

Spring Colors: Avon Ultra Color Rich Moisture Seduction Lipstick in Fuchsia Fever

I am so happy to break out all these fun and interesting colors for Spring & Summer.

It’s all “Back to Brights, Down with Darks” now – all the dark vampy wintry shades are RIP in my stash.

Today, I am introducing a fun lip color from Avon – Fuchsia Fever from their Ultra Color range. 

Link: http://www.avon.ca/shop/en/avon-ca/ultra-color-lipstick?DO=c112014_brochure&pageNumber=24

Avon describes this color as a “Roses to Mauve” shade and the name indicates a bright Fuchsia shade, but actually neither fits this lipstick.

This is a bright blue toned Pink – a true blue pink, if you will. 

The lipstick bullet is interestingly designed – with swirls of color that makes you wonder if the color is going to a lot lighter than how it looks.

But this actually applies a tad bit brighter  - don’t ask me how! I don’t know how or why!

I have already reviewed this line of lipsticks here : http://thatmakeuplady.blogspot.com/2014/05/something-for-office-avon-ultra-color.html

Fuchsia Fever is also pretty much the same -  nicely moisturising, slight silver shimmer and average staying power [1-2 hours max].

One good thing is, because of the bright color, there is a slight stain left after the color fades.

But then, I don’t use a creamy lipstick if I need a long lasting color –I rely on my liquid lipsticks for that!

What I like about this lipcolor is basically the bright shade and the fact that this is a comfortable lippie –no hassles on application.

Overall, this is a fun lip color. Avon has lots of sales, so may be if you like you can try it.

It’s definitely a perky color for Spring and I am liking itJ