Review & Swatches: Wet n Wild Halloween 2014 Collection Eyeshadows - Limited Edition

I was so excited to find the display housing the new Halloween 2014 Wet N Wild collection, I could barely contain myself from purchasing the entire line! I did settle on these two palettes, "A Karat in the World" and "Daring Downtown" as being the most unique to my collection and ones that I would likely reach for.

Here's a closer look:

"A Karat in the World" features a gold theme, varying in tone from bright yellow to bronze and medium brown shades. "Daring Downtown" is a gem-toned palette, which appears not to be a stand-alone since Wet n Wild didn't stamp their typical usage instruction monikers. "Daring Downtown" is probably best served with a variety of light and mid-toned shades from your collection.

Both sets of swatches turned out pretty true to color. I'm happy to report once again, such as with the Wet n Wild Fall 2014 collection, these shadows are the old, buttery Coloricon formulation! Let's all hold hands and say thank-you to Wet n Wild for listening to our pleas to return to their tried, tested, and true eyeshadows. The fact that they listened to consumers is going to make me 300% more likely to purchase more items from Wet n Wild collections.

All of the shadows are smooth, buttery and glide on like a dream. They pick up onto your brush without creating powdery fall-out, and you will be pleased with the way they transfer onto your skin. I know that these palettes may be a little hard to come by, since they may sell out quickly, but I highly recommend them.

I wanted to take a photo with flash for you to see how much sparkle is packed into these shades and how it can reflect the light. As I was taking this photo, I had an incredible revelation that the "Daring Downtown" palette is a dupe for.... Urban Decay's "The Black Palette" (LE)!!

Wet N Wild "Daring Downtown" and Urban Decay "The Black Palette"

I have them side-by-side for your viewing pleasure. You can tell that there is no dupe in the Wet n Wild palette for Barracuda (slate gray with silver sparkle) or Cobra (bold golden yellow with gold sparkle). However, you are getting a unique red shade in the Wet n Wild palette which is not featured in the Urban Decay palette.

Since "The Black Palette" retailed for $36 for 6 eyeshadows, and Wet n Wild's "Daring Downtown" retails for $3.99-4.99, you can expect that the Urban Decay shadows are more pigmented and easier to blend out. However, I do think that the "Daring Downtown" palette is a good performer, you may just need to layer the shadows on more than once to achieve the desired intensity.

"Daring Downtown" dupes for "The Black Palette":
Purple => Jet (WnW's is more black, UD's has more sparkle and is amethyst-toned)
Red is not a dupe
Black => Black Dog (WnW's has more sparkle, UD's truer black)
Blue => Sabbath (WnW's is darker, less blue, strong sapphire color in Sabbath)
Green => Libertine (UD's was darker, more black than green, highly pigmented)

Did you pick up any of the Wet n Wild Halloween palettes? Are you happy with the shadow formulation?

Review & Swatches: Wet n Wild Halloween 2014 Megaslicks Balm Stain - Limited Edition

Wet n Wild has released a whole new Halloween 2014 Collection and it can be found at Walgreens and Duane Reade. I have purchased "2AM Call Time" and "Senorita" and wanted to compare them to two colors from the permanent collection of Megaslicks Balm Stains. I only skipped out on one of these from the Halloween collection, it was a gold color called "You're Golden" but it just wasn't my cup of tea!

Now as you may already know the Megaslicks Balm Stains are a moisturizing formula combining both color and nourishment for your lips. They are an easy alternative to the lipstick and they go on smooth and wear comfortably. They stain the lips, specifically leaving a color if they are darker or brighter-toned (the nudes don't do this as much). The Balm Stains also have a minty refreshing feeling which perks your lips up and even has a slight plumping effect in my experience.

You may be able to tell from the swatch that "Senorita" was by far the most glossy of the Balm Stains, and the new shades ("2AM Call Time" and "Senorita") seemed to apply even more smoothly than "Rico Mauve" and "Pinky Promise" form the permanent collection.

Lip Swatch of Wet n Wild Megaslicks Balm Stain in "Senorita", ambient lighting

"Senorita" is a true red in every sense of the word, it seems to be a mid-tone red that doesn't lean orange or plum. I really love this shade for a night out or a bold lip with a muted eyeshadow look. It made my lips look full, didn't settle into any creases and the shine left a healthy glow.

Lip Swatch of Wet n Wild Megaslicks Balm Stain in "2AM Call Time", with flash

"2AM Call Time" is a bold color, not for the faint of heart! It is a bright purple shade, not cranberry-like in the slightest. It reminds me of more expensive lipsticks such as LimeCrime's which specialize in bold colors. I'm so happy I bought this color, it's truly unique! I can see myself lightly patting this on my lips for a hint of color for daytime.

I was so intrigued by 2AM Call Time and I just had to compare it to other similar colors from the drugstore from my collection. I have the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in "Shameless" and the Jordana Twist & Shine in "Cranberry Crush" for comparison.

Wet N Wild Megaslicks Balm Stain "2AM Call Time" Comparison

You can see from the swatches above that the Jordana Twist & Shine Moisturizing Balm Stain in "Cranberry Crush" is the most wearable of the bunch, applying more as a cranberry than a purple. The Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in "Shameless" is a more matte, blue-toned purple, slightly deeper in saturation than the Wet N Wild Balm Stain in "2AM Call Time". I actually thought the Revlon Balm in "Shameless" was much patchier (you can even tell in the swatch) and it settles into the fine lines of my lips, something that the Wet N Wild Balm Stain does not. The biggest difference between the Revlon and Wet N Wild products is that the latter has a good amount of moisturizing and shine, while the former can be described as drying on the lips and is best worn with another balm underneath.

Do you own any of the Wet N Wild Megaslicks Balm Stains? Which color is your favorite and why? Let me know in the comments below!

Product Review & Swatches: Too Faced La Belle Carousel - New Release for Holiday 2014

This is going to be an extremely picture-heavy post, so I apologize in advance but I am extremely excited about receiving the Too Faced "La Belle Carousel" after ordering it from Macys.com. The outer packaging is absolutely stunning, I love the artistic ornamental garlands surrounding the box and the scalloped golden edges of the packaging... plus it's a french carousel! What an adorable theme!

The inside looks just like a Christmas ornament, you could even hang it! The miniature palettes are held together pretty tightly by the glittery pink end-caps (these are made of a heavy duty cardboard).

Once the top is removed, inside you will find a look-book  with 4 looks: Sweet Soiree, La Belle, La Vie en Rose, and La Bonne Nuit. I always love it when companies include look-books, specifically when I'm feeling rather uninspired, I just take a peek and voila, a new look to try out!

When you pull out the individual components you will find that you have 5 miniature palettes and 1 Better Than Sex mascara (deluxe sized sample). The whole set retails for $49 but has an expected value of $282, so you're getting quite a deal!

A closer look at the opened palettes reveals 2 blush/bronzer palettes and 3 eyeshadow palettes (with 4 shadows in each - so you're getting 12 eyeshadows altogether). Let's take a closer look at the specifics of each palette.

The blush and bronzer palettes consist of Who's Your Poppy, Luminous Peach, Chocolate Soleil and Sun Bunny Dark. Who's Your Poppy is a rose red with glitter particles and Luminous Peach is a satin mid-toned orange. Chocolate Soleil is cocoa scented cool-leaning mid-tone bronzer and Sun Bunny Dark (the dark strip from the Sun Bunny bronzer) is a metallic orange-brown which reflects a lot of light.

Some of the shades in this range are re-promotes. Yule Log is a re-promote from last year's "Joy to the Girls" holiday palette and I find that they have the exact same consistency and performance. Sugar Plum Fairy also appears to be a re-promote of Sugar Plum from that same palette, it may be half a shade darker but they both suffer from pretty serious pilling in the pan due to the amount and size of glitter. Christmas Tree could be a shade close to Evergreen from the "A Few of my Favorite Things" Holiday 2013 palette, but I do not own that palette so I can't confirm it. Haute Chocolate is a re-promote from the Chocolate Bar palette as well, I don't see any difference between the two shades.

All of the shades performed well, though I want to make note that Frost is essentially an "overshadow" color that provides just some sparkle and glitter, but will not really provide much of a color on its own. I like that they included Tufted Suede in the palette (it's hard to see in my swatches since it is very close to my the color of my tanned skin). Santa's Boots was the only color I found to be chalky and rather hard to blend, also the black was not very pigmented and didn't travel easily when swatching. Some standout shades that I think are an absolute success in this palette are: Tin Soldier, Christmas Tree, Boxes & Bows, Angel Hair, Haute Chocolate (this one was my absolute favorite) and Yule Log.

I absolutely love this set and I think it would make a wonderful gift for any makeup lover! What a wonderful set, full of some new shades and a couple of re-promotes of successful holiday shades from last year. The eyeshadows feature a range of colors from highlighting colors to transition shades, darker crease shades and even pops of color. I love the size of the blushes and bronzers, you're getting a decent amount of product and all of the colors are very wearable on almost any skin-tone.

Is this set on your wishlist for the holidays?

 

NYC Sunny Bronzer Review & Bronzer Comparison

I finally caved and purchased the NYC Sunny bronzer ($2.99), not because I needed another bronzer, but because I wanted to see how it compared to a lot of others I have and whether or not it is a dupe for a higher end product.

From top to bottom, left to right: Wet N Wild Ticket to Brazil, elf Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder (St. Lucia), NARS Blush/Bronzer Duo (Orgasm/Laguna), Too Faced Chocolate Soleil, tarte Park Ave Princess, NYC Smooth Skin (Sunny),  Physicians Formula Organic Wear Bronzer (Healthy Glow)

As you can see, I have quite a large variety of bronzers and I picked out some of the most popular ones to compare to. I like the compact of the NYC Smooth Skin Sunny bronzer, I think it looks a lot more high end than its $2.99 price tag.

Of my bronzers, the ones that suit my skin-tone best are probably Wet N Wild Ticket to Brazil, Physicians Formula Organic Wear Natural Glow Bronzer, and Too Faced Chocolate Soleil. So let's see how NYC's Sunny compares in the swatches below:

NYC Smooth Skin Sunny Bronzer was more smooth than the Wet n Wild Ticket to Brazil Bronzer and had no visible shimmer particles. I prefer bronzers that are more matte or satin, and I tend to stay away from overly shimmery products, which I why I sometimes opt out of wearing my Wet n Wild bronzer.

NYC Smooth Skin Sunny Bronzer appears to be a happy medium between my lightest shade (PF Organic Wear Bronzer in Natural Glow) and the Wet N Wild Ticket to Brazil Bronzer. NARS' Laguna is more cool-toned and taupe-like. Tarte's Park Ave. Princess Bronzer is more reddish and a deeper brown shade. E.L.F.'s St. Lucia Bronzer is definitely the darkest of the bunch (I almost never wear this one since it only matches my tone when I am very bronzed).

I highly recommend the NYC Sunny Bronzer if you're fair to light skin toned, I'm not sure how well this product could work for medium to deeper tones since it is a rather lighter bronzer. It definitely exudes a beautiful warm glow from the skin when applied, so if you are not a fan of warm tones, than this product isn't for you. I find that it's even useful for me to contour my nose with.

Do you have any of these bronzers? Let me know what you think about them and which one is your fav! Also let me know if you have any product suggestions for things I should try!

Product Review: Wet 'n Wild Intuitive Blend Foundation + Primer

I was perusing the aisles of my local Rite Aid a few days ago and I stumbled upon the Wet 'n Wild Intuitive Blend Shade Adjusting Foundation + Primer. Now, I realize this isn't a new product to their line but I hadn't seen it in previous displays, so it took this extended display for me to realize it was even there! It is a foundation AND primer priced only at $5.99 so I figured I would give it a go and review it.

The applicator is a simple squeeze-tube and I find these perfectly hygienic and simple to use. I like the ombre yet simple packaging of this foundation - and what really intrigued me was that this product claims to be a primer as well as a foundation, which would cut one step out of my morning beauty routine (and I'm all about simplifying).

I took a series of photographs to show you how the microbead shade-adjusting technology works:

This foundation provides light to medium coverage and performs like a BB cream or tinted moisturizer, but it really does do everything that it claims! I haven't experienced any pilling or greasiness, the foundation wore all day on my skin and my skin still felt smooth 8 hours in. I applied it with a brush and my fingers, I typically prefer a brush but it works well both ways. I did find that I had to use concealer for my under-eye circles as the coverage wasn't enough to give me the brightness I like (but this can be true for many medium coverage foundations).

All in all, I think this is a fantastic, well-priced product. It really is a no-muss no-fuss sort of morning product that is a ton of fun to use. The product range only consists of 4 shades Fair, Light, Medium and Tan, so choose the one that you normally fall into with other foundations you may use.

If you're interested in this product, I've linked all 4 shades (fair, light, medium and tan) below:

ONLINE ONLY Beauty Steal! Cargo Shanghai Nights Palette

Ulta is having their annual 21 Days of Beauty Steals massive sale, where every day there are various items that are on sale. You can check out the whole calendar on their website. The one that really caught my eye was the brand new Cargo Shanghai Nights Eyeshadow Palette, which I believe will only be released on the day of the sale, Tuesday 9/23/2014.

The deal on this palette is insane! It's literally going to be half off, it normally would retail for $39, but is on sale for $20, you won't be getting a better deal than that! Today only, you can also get the Stila In the Moment, In the Know and In the Light palette for that same deal during the beauty sale.

I couldn't find any more photos of the palette online but I did find this graphic which shows the colors:

I'm a huge fan of the color selection, there's a good variety of colorpop (Lychee, Ginger, Hu, Skyline, Street Style and Bar Rouge) along with a wide variety of cool-toned and warm-toned neutrals (Wai Tai, Bund, Jin Mao, Neon, Jade, Night Life)! You can create so many looks with this mixture of shadows. I'm definitely going to try to pick this up online during the sale!

If you want to know what similar Cargo palettes look like, last year they released the "Let's Meet in Paris" palette, which was a very similar format - this was sold for the 2013 holiday season and was very limited in quantity:

Cargo Palette: Let's Meet in Paris, courtesy of www.makeupgeek.com

They also released a palette called "Vintage Escape" which is in the same format in the fall of 2013:

Cargo Palette: Vintage Escape, photo courtesy of www.15minutebeauty.com

New Release & Sneak Peek: Too Faced La Belle Carousel & Everything Nice (A Few of my Favorite Things 2)

Too Faced - La Belle Carousel set from Macys.com

This set is absolutely breathtaking from the promos, and since I know how fast Too Faced's holiday sets sell out, I decided to order a set! It retails for $49, but you can find Macys.com coupons that might apply to it.

Too Faced - La Belle Carousel set from Macys.com 

I love the packaging, it really looks high-end and Too Faced always does an amazing job specifically with their holiday sets - their products really get me into the holiday spirit! I'm squealing with joy as I'm writing this post!

Rumoured contents of Too Faced - La Belle Carousel found on Dermstore.com

3 Eyeshadow Mini Palettes (4 colors each - 12 shades total):
For the Macys.com set: 1 confirmed palette will consist of Frost (metallic bright silver), Tin Soldier (gunmetal gray shimmer), Christmas Tree (forest green shimmer) and Santa's Boots (shimmery black)
Unsure of 2 palettes - it appears there are 2 variants of this set - maybe sold in different stores? We'll find out soon!

2 Blush & Bronzer Mini Palettes (2 colors each, 4 shades total):
For the Macys.com set: Who's Your Poppy Blush and Chocolate Soleil Bronzer
Unsure of shades in 2nd palette

Deluxe "Better Than Sex Mascara" comes with the set

Sneak Peek Courtesy of trendynailsrd on Instagram - not sure if this is the set released on Macys.com, it appears to differ from the set on Dermstore.com where I got the previous preview.

I ordered the set from Macys.com so as soon as I get my hands on it, I'll take photos and inform you of the colors! Update to come soon, happy holiday shopping!


PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Sneak Peek: Too Faced Everything Nice Palette (A Few Of My Favorite Things 2)!!!! Just to get you excited!

Found this on: The Sunday Girl blog - check out the post for a first impression