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.

Send Me Sailing 3 Different Ways: Review of MAC Hey, Sailor Lipglass in Send Me Sailing

I only own one red lipgloss, and it's the Rimmel one that I hated. So it's totally okay for me for me to buy another, in hopes of me liking this one better. Or at least, that's what I told myself when I picked this up. Am I glad I did? Definitely. It's just a really versatile product, in my opinion. Red lip products are staples in every makeup user's arsenal. The way I saw it, it was important for me to have another. Plus, who could resist that adorable nautical packaging?

At this point, you guys have probably heard enough about the packaging in my other reviews about this collection's products. Let's just say it's fantastic and leave it at that.

The color is a yellow based red. It does sound a bit contradictory, but that's what it is. It's very, very, very glossy. However, there's zero shimmer or sparkle.

This lipgloss lipglass (I will never understand MAC's product names) is so, so, so pigmented! I've actually never run into a lipgloss lipglass this pigmented before. Due to this large amount of pigmentation, this lipgloss has enormous versatility. It can be worn a multitude of ways, and here I've listed 3 of them, but there are so many more!

1. Putting a tiny bit on and blending it out for a sheer hint of color

2. Applying it thickly for a more dramatic lip

3. Layering it over a lipstick (I layered it over Sail La Vie)

Sorry for the slightly blurry pictures, the lighting was awful that day.
Obviously, Send Me Sailing is a super versatile product, which I love! It would be great to travel with. However, I noted that it does have a bit of a tingly plumping effect to it. I absolutely despise anything with plumping, so this irritated me quite a bit. However, it's only noticeable when applied thickly. Since I rarely wear a lip that dramatic, I can get past it and still really like this product.

Another downside is that it's fairly expensive - $15.50 for just a lipgloss! And there isn't a particularly large amount of product. However, since it's so pigmented, it will probably last quite a bit of time. Speaking of lasting time, the staying power of this is excellent. Worn sheerly, it's about 3 hours before it fades and leaves a bit of an ugly lipline. Worn thickly, it's somewhere around 4 hours. That's incredible for lipgloss! Huge bonus points in my book. I think this color would work on pretty much all skintones.

Overall, this is a decent product. It's extremely, extremely versatile. The plumping effect does detract from its' appeal a bit, but in the end the versatility of the product outweighs. It is worth the higher price tag due to the great pigmentation and lasting time. I did like this product; if only it didn't have a plumping effect, it would be practically perfect in my book!

Funky All Around: Review of Rimmel Moisture Renew Lip Gloss in Cherry Boost

This will be my first very negative review of a product on this blog. I'm usually fairly positive, in real life and online. I mean, negativity really isn't the most helpful thing. Constructive criticism and negativity are totally different, the way I see it. Constructive criticism is putting something towards a place where it can get positive comments, whereas negativity doesn't help anyone out -  it just brings people down. However, there are some cases where a dose of negativity is needed. In this case, when I bought a product I didn't like. I want anyone who reads my blog to know the facts about this product I disliked, so they can make a better informed decision of whether to buy it or not.

I bought a lipgloss the other day, and I showed it in my drugstore haul. It was the Rimmel London SPF 15 Moisture Renew Lip Gloss in Cherry Boost. I picked this up because I heard good things about Rimmel's products, and it was on clearance. For 75% off. It was hard to turn down. So I bought it and took it home, and swatched it for my drugstore haul. When I tried to swatch it, I was a bit puzzled, because the only way to deposit color was from the tip. Most lip glosses with a foam applicator absorb product and the wand is usually saturated with it. However, with this lip gloss, it was not so. The tiny tip of the wand was the only part that had any color. So to get a decent swatch, I had to dip back into the tube multiple times, which is firstly inconvenient, and secondly unsanitary since the more times you pump a wand in and out of a tube, the more bacteria you introduce into it. The applicator was plain funky. This was extremely annoying. And it would apply color in random places when you put pressure on the applicator. Also annoying.

I then took the wand out of the tube and smelled it. And no, this is not weird. Juuuust so you know. :P Scent matters a lot to me in terms of lip gloss and lip products. If they don't smell appealing, why would I ever put it near my mouth? So I sniffed the wand, and I practically reeled back in horror. It smelled awful. Like rotten plastic cherries. And I really did not want to let this lip gloss anywhere near my mouth. But I decided to give it a chance.

So I applied this (I had to dip back in the bottle multiple times), hoping for it to work moisturizing wonders on my lips. I have one lip gloss by Jouer that I love and is extremely moisturizing. And you can tell when you apply it that it's moisturizing. However, with the Rimmel lip gloss, this is not so. My lips didn't feel any less tight than they did before. With my Jouer lip gloss, you can feel the difference. With the Rimmel lip gloss, not so much. So it didn't live up to its moisturizing claims. It wasn't uncomfortable on the lips, but it didn't feel luxuriously moisturizing either.

However, this lipgloss was kind of a plumping lip gloss. I despise plumping lipglosses. I find the so called "tingling", which I mentally label "burning" to be annoying and not worth the small amount of lip plumping that occurs in the end. So, when this lipgloss was a mildly plumping lip gloss, it lost some points in my book. It wasn't as much of a burning sensation as some I've tried, but it was annoying. It was kind of funky that they made it a semi-plumping product. Although it wasn't moisturizing, it was decently comfortable on my lips (besides the plumping factor). The color was also really nice once I actually got it on - it was definitely wearable, something I could wear to school.

Overall, I didn't like this product. The applicator was frustrating, and the plumping action really annoyed me. The color was nice once I got it on, but it was definitely not worth the trouble. Good thing I got this on clearance, or else I'd definitely be returning it. I'm hoping that maybe next time I try a Rimmel lip product, I'll like it more, since I've heard such great things about their lip products.

Rating: 2/5