Wet N Wild Fauna Set

I was visiting my aunt and uncle in Seattle, and they have a drugstore there called Bartell's. We went to visit it, and they had a really exciting clearance section. I picked up the OPI dupe of Chanel Peridot (called Just Spotted The Lizard) as well. I used it and forgot to photograph it, so it chipped before I got to take any pictures. but I'll try to have a post on that up eventually. Anyway, I got this set for $3.50! Not bad for a blush, eyeshadow, and lip gloss! I'll review the products one by one.

First, the lip gloss:

When I first tried to use some, it came out all gross, where the pigment and the gloss were separated somehow.

So I went and shook it, and then it was pretty much fine after. Still, it gives me the impression that the set was kind of old. Here's a real swatch:

It's a really pretty mauve-rose color! However, it has really subtle silver shimmer in it somehow, and it causes me to look washed out when I wear it. It stays for about 2 hours, but it's super super super sticky. I honestly can't put up with sticky lip gloss, since my hair gets stuck on it. I'm going to give this to my sister or someone who might get more use out of it.

Then there's the blush.

I actually have a Wet N Wild blush by the name of Pearlescent Pink. However, the colors seem to be completely different. I'll do a swatch comparison for you guys sometime. Anyway, this is a pink with a tiny hint of peach and gold glitter that's not extremely chunky but isn't super subtle either. It's well pigmented, and very buildable for either a dramatic or natural flush. The narrow strip packaging is kind of annoying to fit a brush into, as you have to go sideways, and it opens vertically. It's fairly easy to pick up color, and it applies smoothly to the cheeks. It lasts about 4-5 hours on me. Not stellar, but not abysmal either. The blush is a solid item in this collection.

Lastly, my favorite item, the eyeshadow palette!

The palette has the typical Wet N Wild 3 pan packaging. Plastic and not particularly interesting or easy on the eyes. They also included the two useless brushes they usually do, both of which are going in the trash. However, the eyeshadows are a different matter. The top two shades, the white champagne color and the blueish teal (both shimmery), are perfect. They are both fairly soft but super, super pigmented. They apply beautifully. Unfortunately, the color I was most looking forward to, the purple with silver glitter, is just not pigmented.

Swatched without primer

As you can see, the purple's pigmentation is totally subpar compared to the other two colors. This was such a letdown for me, since I'm constantly on the hunt for a good purple that's not red based (red based purples make me look tired). I hoped I had finally found it in the Wet N Wild Fauna set, but I was wrong. It would be perfect, if only the pigmentation was better. This is how it looks when there's 4 layers:

Swatched without primer

They last all day without creasing over primer (I use UDPP).

Overall, this is a solid makeup set, especially for the amazing price. My only lament is the lack of pigmentation is the purple. I love the blush, and the teal and white champagne eyeshadows are gorgeous. The lip gloss is sticky and meh on my skintone, but someone who likes sticky lipglosses might enjoy it. I definitely don't regret purchasing this set, and I'd recommend it to anyone considering purchasing it; it's won't make much of a dent in your wallet, and you get good value for your money.

You'll Have to Be Fleet and Fast To Snatch This One: Review of MAC Hey, Sailor Summer Blush in Fleet Fast

Wow, mouthful of a title. Sorry about that. Anyway, this collection doesn't seem to be available online any more, but if you think you want this blush, you'll have to rush to the nearest store that sells MAC to snag it!

Look at that nautical packaging! As I've said in previous reviews, I'm a total sucker for stripes and nautically themed things. Besides the pattern, the blue plastic packaging is sturdy and the product won't open in your handbag if you choose to carry it that way. You snap it open with your fingernail. The packaging is just absolutely lovely.

The color itself is a muted red-pink with hints of coral. It's a Satin finish. The overspray makes it seem as if there might be some golden glitter in it, but for me at least, it reads as matte on my cheeks. It's medium pigmented - it can be worn very sheerly for the subtlest hint of color, or built up for a more dramatic look.

The texture of this blush is fairly dry, not as creamy as I was hoping for. However, it's still extremely finely milled. It's fairly easy to blend and work with, although not as easy to blend out as theBalm's Hot Mama blush. The lasting power is okay, clocking in around 6 hours when it's pretty much disappeared. Fading begins around 4 hours after wear. These times are both based on when I set it with powder. I think this blush would work best on warm toned skin, but I can see it being compatible with dark skin tones, although I'm not sure it would complement cooler skin tones as well as it would warm.

This blush is definitely on the higher end of the cost spectrum at $21. However, since it is pigmented, I don't need to use a lot to get the desired effect. Besides, I know I keep waxing lyrical about the packaging, but I just love it so much! For me, it increases the value of the product.

In conclusion, I like this blush a lot! It's awesome for when I don't want to wear a shimmery blush (this is my only matte or close to matte blush). The color is gorgeous and perfect for summer. I love the hint of coral, the color seems pretty unique to me. The staying power is solid, the texture is workable, and it's an overall great product!
Don't forget to enter my Apothica/SkinCareRX giveaway!

June Favorites!

Everyone always says that the month flew by for them. I swear, every time I see a favorites post, someone will be saying "the month just rushed by for me!" For me, most of of the month rushed by. I had final exams and such up until June 6th. After that, although I know I'm being cliché, the summer days seemed to start sprinting by. I'm so happy to be out on summer break! Having free time again is awesome, I've been working on a whole bunch of posts for you guys, I'm so excited! Anyway, this month I've been really loving a couple products. So I thought I'd do a favorites post. I have pictures of the products and swatches of all of them. Here goes!

Clockwise from top: Make Up Forever Full Cover Concealer in 7, Inglot Gel Liner in 74, MAC Fleet Fast,  Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Carnation, Inglot Cream Concealer in G

Make Up Forever Full Cover Concealer in 7: This concealer is absolutely fantastic. I can only use it in the summer, since otherwise I'm too pale for it. However, it matches me really well at the moment! The coverage is fantastic - I use it to cover blemishes. It can be used for undereye circles, although it can turn out looking a bit cakey if you apply too much. It's super pigmented, so the one tube will last forever!

Inglot Gel Liner in 74: Inglot liners are my HG gel liners - they go on smoothly, they're pigmented, they're waterproof, and they last all day! 74 is a plum color that I feel makes my brown eyes pop a bit more (which isn't easy to do).

MAC Fleet Fast: This blush is a gorgeous color that lasts a long time, and is super pigmented! A review on this is coming up shortly.

Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Carnation: A gorgeous blue based pink. Lovely creamy formula, and doesn't highlight imperfections. It has a slightly shiny finish, but not glossy. A perfect summer lipstick!

Inglot Cream Concealer in G: A basic green concealer to hide redness. Doesn't appear cakey, and applies smoothly and creamily. It blends out really well.

Here's swatches!

From left to right: MAC Fleet Fast, Inglot Gel Liner in 74, MUFE Full Cover Concealer in 7, Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Carnation, Inglot Cream Concealer in G

And that's this month's favorites! What have you guys been reaching for a lot lately? Let me know in the comments! Also, don't forget to enter my Apothica/SkinCareRX giveaway!

Luminous Cheeks For All: Review of Milani Baked Blush in 5 Luminoso & Swatch Comparison

Everybody loves this blush, so I decided to get it when I was at Target. It's always out of stock at my local CVS, sadly. This is the peachiest toned blush I own, and I really like it! I think the color works really well on my skintone (light-medium with yellow undertones).

First off, the packaging. It's plastic and pretty cheapy, nothing special. I like that the gold shiny part doesn't keep fingerprints, any fingerprints fade quickly. It also doesn't attract dust, since it's plastic. It doesn't feel like it would crack super easily, which is nice. When you flip the blush part of the compact up, it reveals a brush and a mirror underneath.

The brush is pretty much useless, it's scratchy and would probably be phenomenally awful to use. It's headed for the trash. However, the mirror is a really nice touch - when I travel, having a mirror in each individual piece of makeup is quite nice, it makes it a lot easier to apply it when I don't have to open another product for a mirror or carry a separate mirror.

Top swatch, one layer of Luminoso. Bottom swatch, two layers of Luminoso

I'm not going to lie, this blush definitely has shimmer in it. It gives a really nice glowy highlight to the cheek, without nasty fallout or anything. It's not over the top at all. The color is a peach color with a bit of pink in it and a subtle gold highlight. It's a lot peachier than theBalm Hot Mama blush, which I did a review on here. The color of Milani Luminoso is gorgeous, it flatters my skintone well. It's medium pigmented - I swipe my blush brush (haha, tongue twister, say blush brush five times fast) twice to pick up the amount of color that I want. It can also be applied super sheerly if you need to. The texture of this blush is sooo smooth, not gritty at all. Here's a comparison of Hot Mama and Luminoso:

theBalm Hot Mama on top, Milani Luminoso on bottom

As you can see, Luminosos is much more of a true peach blush with hints of pink whereas Hot Mama has a lot more pink in it with some peach tones, although they both have golden shimmer.

The staying power of this blush is FANTASTICNESS. It stays from around 7:30am in the morning to 5 or 6pm in the evening when I take it off. It keeps my face looking alive and glowy all day long! Almost all blushes fade completely by the end of the day on me (theBalm Hot Mama is the only one that stays all day). So in terms of staying power, this blush is love, love love!

Overall, this is a really great blush! I do wish they could have used the money they put towards the brush towards maybe making the packaging a bit more sturdy and less cheapy looking. However, this blush is fantastic in all other aspects -  gorgeous color, lovely formula, and phenomenal staying power!

Rating: 5/5

A State of Cheek Nirvana: Review of Benefit Hervana Blush

Many of you may have heard of this blush from Benefit which launched fairly recently, in the last couple of months. I picked this up from Sephora. Anyway, this blush had been getting pretty good reviews in the blogosphere, and I've become slightly blush crazy recently. I know I said I was done buying blush after I purchased and loved theBalm's Hot Mama Blush, but I didn't stick to that very well. Anyway, here's initial pictures!

The brush was decent. Reasonably soft, but I doubt I'll really be using this as I have no need for it, I like my MAC 129.

The texture of this blush is fairly soft, and it's decently pigmented. However, it's definitely on the lighter side. You can see shimmer in the pan, but the blush reads as totally matte on my cheeks. Staying power isn't fantastic, about 6 hours before it starts to fade on me. It's a light pink with hints of peachiness and orchid to it, which I really like. Here's a swatch, although I had to put about 2 layers on to get it to show up.

It applies really smoothly to my cheeks, and wakes up my face really well. Overall,  a pretty nice blush. However, the price tag of $28 is pretty high, and I'm not sure this particular color is worth it. The packaging and product are cute, sure, but the blush isn't out of this world. It's a nice blush for a comparatively high pricetag. I like this blush, but I don't love it.

Rating: 4.5/5

Do you guys like having lots of pictures like in this post, or less pictures like I usually have? Would love to hear feedback on this, let me know in the comments. :)
Remember to enter my giveaway!

It's Hot In Here: Review of theBalm Hot Mama Blush

After purchasing two of theBalm's other products (Sexy Mama Powder and Mary Lou-manizer), I wanted some more of theBalm. I had seen nothing but quality from them. When MyGlam sent out a 25% off code for theBalm's website, I jumped on it. Since I still haven't found a blush I liked enough to wear on a daily basis, I decided I would try their blush Hot Mama. Hot Mama is supposed to be very similar to NARS Orgasm, which I have swatched but don't own. I also ordered a backup of Sexy Mama powder. So I waited impatiently for my package to arrive. When it got here, I quickly unpacked it. But by then, it was too dark outside to take product photos. So I waited till the next day, when the sun was luckily out (yay!).

The product packaging is very cute, with a pin-up style girl on it. It's magnetic and snaps shut. It feels very sturdy. It has a nice mirror on the inside, and there's definitely a lot of product in the pan. The only problem I have with the packaging is that if you drop it really hard, the mirror will crack - I know this from experience, when I dropped my theBalm Sexy Mama powder and the mirror cracked but didn't fall apart. It still ruined the nice mirror though, and it's not really quite so nice anymore. =/

When swatched, it is extremely similar to NARS Orgasm. It's shimmery, but not glittery. It's a peach-toned color with gold reflects. It leans a tiny bit cool, but can't really be defined as warm or cool. I think it would work on almost all skin tones. It's definitely pigmented, and it glides onto my cheeks really smoothly. The powder is quite soft, and it's easy to pick up pigment, so you have to be careful only to get one or two swipes of blush on the brush. If you set it with powder, it stays on all day, which is awesome - most blushes disappear by the end of the day on me. It acts kind of like a blush/highlighter combo, so it's a one step application. It's awesome, and makes my routine that one step faster, minus the highlighter!

Here's a picture of me wearing it (I went overboard trying to get it to show up for the camera, sorry about that - I regularly don't wear nearly this much blush):

All in all, I absolutely love this blush! This is the only blush I've ever found that I can see myself wearing on a daily basis - it has just the right amount of shimmer, not glitter, and works as a highlighter as well as a blush. I think this will definitely become a part of my daily routine, because it really adds life to my face and stays all day! This product is my HG blush (although to be honest, I haven't tried many) and I will use it until I either find a new HG or use it up!

Small Wet n Wild Haul from CVS

I went to CVS and found that they were having a 40% off the already cheap Wet n Wild! So I picked up a blush, an 8 pan eyeshadow palette, a lipstick, and some make up remover. I've decided to try Neutrogena's - I might do a review on it once I've had a couple chances to use it. I've heard really good things about it.

My mini-haul: