Wet n' Wild Color Icon Blusher in #834E Berry Shimmer

Wet n Wild is one of those lines that I just love to pieces.  The entire line generally has functional (if boring) packaging, a phenomenal price point and the quality is outstanding.  Because of this, I own just about everything Wet n Wild has on the market.  But last weekend, I found a blush I had somehow neglected to pick up.

This is the Wet n Wild Color Icon Blusher in #834E, Berry Shimmer.  It is a gorgeous deep wine color with gold sparkle.  The pigmentation is absolutely phenomenal.  It has fantastic color payoff.  

The texture of the blush is very soft and easy to blend with a lovely satin finish.  I found that as you blend it out, it does tend to lose the sparkle, but not the pigmentation (I hate it when blushes work the other way around - I'm looking at you, Milani).  

The Wet n Wild Color Icon blusher in Berry Shimmer contains 4 grams of product and is available wherever Wet n Wild is sold.  I picked mine up at Wal-Mart for $2.93.

Overall:  9/10

Hard Candy Eye Def Metallic Eyeshadow in #426 Golden Earth

Yes, my Hard Candy kick continues with the Hard Candy Eye Def Metallic Eyeshadow in #426 Golden Earth.  I was super impressed with the other Hard Candy cream eyeshadows I've tried, so I didn't hesitate to pick up the metallic cream eyeshadow.

(The Eye Def range also includes Glitter shadows, which I have not tried.)

This definitely is metallic, but sheered out (as you can see above on the right), it's very wearable.  Applied heavily it is a full on metallic bronze.  Sheered out it is much warmer, redder and softer, not as metallic.  

The eyeshadow has a thick cream texture that is easily applied with the doe foot applicator.  The packaging itself is underwhelming.  It's a super long plastic tube with an equally long applicator wand.  I suspect that you would waste a lot of product because of the packaging, but since there's virtually no danger of me ever running out of any of my color cosmetics, it's not something I'm going to worry about, especially at this price point.

It sheers out easily and it dries down quickly.  It's perhaps not quite as quick to set as the Hard Candy liquid eyeshadow, but it is set in less than a minute and I didn't find it prone to creasing as it dried.  I did not leave my eyes closed while it set, though you certainly could if you're worried about it.  It does dry quickly enough that I would recommend applying it to one eye at a time.  Once it is set, it is very budge proof and not at all tacky.  It does need to be removed with an oil cleanser or oil based makeup remover.

The Hard Candy Eye Def Metallic Eyeshadow contains 12.6 grams of product and comes in 9 shades.

It retails exclusively at Wal-Mart for $6.

Overall:  8/10

Sonia Kashuk Eyeshadow Quad in Bed of Roses

So here is another Sonia Kashuk product that I didn't photograph brand new because I didn't expect to be reviewing it.  Sigh.  Anyway, apologies for the less than stellar looking product below.  It is all my fault for using before photographing.

The Sonia Kashuk Eyeshadow Quad in Bed of Roses seems like it would be pink leaning based on the name, but it's really not.  The pan that looks pink above actually isn't.  It's just sparkles with no real pigmentation.

• pink looking shimmer - just shimmer with no real pigmentation, pink or otherwise, very cool, doesn't adhere particularly well and tends to transfer and fall out like crazy.
• matte cool light brown - underwhelming color payoff, very stiff. Has glitter in the pan but it really doesn't translate to the skin at all.
• metallic cool gray brown - buttery soft, crazy pigmentation, excellent payoff
• metallic taupe/purple cool - buttery soft, crazy pigmentation, excellent payoff.

This is a drugstore product, but definitely on the pricier end of the spectrum. Is it worth it when only half the shades are any good? Normally, I would say no, but the two metallic shades in this palette are absolutely phenomenal and they're very taupe leaning and I am such a sucker for a good taupe eyeshadow. For me, it's worth it. If you're not such a taupe fiend, it may be a miss.

Sonia Kashuk Eyeshadow Quad #45 Bed of Roses contains XX grams of product and retails for $13.69 exclusively at Target.

Overall: 7/10

Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow in 101 Gri-Gri

Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow in 101 Gestlogist Gri-Gri is limited edition with the Chanel Fall 2013 collection, Superstition.  It is described by Chanel as a metallic taupe.

In the pan it looks like a very silvery gray.  Swatched it takes on a much more purple/brown tone.  I think it definitely is a taupe.  It has a silver shimmer running through it and if you apply it wet, it definitely looks more metallic.

The texture was incredibly soft and had great pigmentation.  

I found that on the eye, much like the Tom Ford Cream Eyeshadow in Platinum, it tended to look almost wet after a while.  When it started looking like that, I knew it was only a matter of time before it started creasing, but ... it never did crease on me, even after 10 hours of wear.

Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow in 101 Gestlogist Gri-Gri contains 1.6 grams of product and is Limited Edition.  It retails for $28.50 wherever Chanel is sold.  I bought mine at Nordstrom.  As of the writing of this review, it is still available at most online retailers.

Overall:  7/10

New York Color Individual Eyes in #945 Midtown Mauve

Shiv at LetzMakeup mentioned the NYC palettes a while ago and I got curious.  I swear, I haven't used NYC in at least two decades and I figured maybe it was time to give them another try.

I decided to pick up the Individual Eyes palette in #945, Midtown Mauve.  It's also branded as the new Brown Eyes palette.  (I really don't think this is a new product.)

The palette contains 4 eyeshadow shades, a primer and a cream highlight along with directions on which color to apply where.

(L-R: Contour, Lid, Crease, Highlight)

• Contour - matte dark plum with a tiny bit of glitter. Good payoff. Blendable.
• All over lid color - very cool toned satin light pink.  Okay payoff, especially for such a light color.
• Crease - satin mauve/taupe with good payoff. Soft. Blendable.
• Highlight - matte white.  Bad payoff, but pretty much what I would expect at this price point.

Also included in the palette are an eyeshadow primer and a cream highlight.  They are both very emolient and in my experience, neither one of them really dried down.  

If you're someone who regularly uses concealers as primer, then I could see this working for you.  I would personally be afraid that it would crease, but I didn't put a lot of effort into testing it.  

The cream highlighter is very white and shimmery.  It can apply a bit patchy.  All in all, this is a total miss for me.  I don't have any desire to really try it out.  It's just not for me.

Overall, the shadows aren't bad. I really, really like the taupe-y color and it alone is worth the price of the palette for me. Speaking of price, this palette was incredibly budget friendly.

The NYC Individual Eyes Brown Eyes palette in #945 Midtown Mauve contains 1.6 grams of each of the powder eyeshadows and 1.45 grams each for the cream products. It is available whereever NYC cosmetics are sold. I got mine at for $3.97 at Wal-Mart

Overall: 6/10

Josie Maran Argan Beautiful Eyes in Beautiful Nudes

So every now and then I review a product just so I can bitch about it.  And yes, this is one of those times.

I am not very familiar with the Josie Maran cosmetics line, especially the color cosmetics.  But I was in Sephora and on a total impulse buy, I picked up the Argan Beautiful Eyes eyeshadow palette in Beautiful Nudes.

Don't get me wrong, it is a beautiful palette ... to look at.  Go ahead, look at it.

Go on, take a closer look.  Look at those shadows, look at how rich they look.

Yeah, it looks gorgeous doesn't it?  Well, it's not.  There was one shade, ONE SHADE in the entire palette that performed fantastically well and all of the others ranged from mediocre to abysmal.  Oh, wait, I haven't mentioned the price yet, have I.  Well, let me be clear, this palette would suck at any price point.  I would be considerably less irritated about it if it was a drugstore item, but it's not.

This crap palette cost me $36.  Yes, $36 dollars.

• Lid color - gold with shimmer - Total crap.  Super stiff texture.  No color payoff at all.  Had to dig into the product just to get enough to swatch.
• Liner - dark mate cool brown - Excellent payoff, very soft, very pigmented.  Exactly what you waould want if you were using this color as a liner.
• Corner Crease - bronzy brown with shimmer - Very stiff.  Dry texture.  Mediocre color payoff.
• Crease - metallic bronze - Good payoff.  True to pan color.  Nice texture.
• Base/Highlighter - cream - There was no obvious glitter, but it seemed to have an almost duo chrome finish.  It looks cream in the pan, but swatched is white with a blue sheen.  Super dry.  Stiff.  Terrible color payoff.

I am so completely disappointed in this product and really turned off on the entire Josie Maran color cosmetics range.  At this point I'm trying to decide if I want to scrape off the top 2 or 3, or maybe 4 layers of the product to see if it gets better as you go.  The tester in Sephora seemed buttery soft across the board with great payoff, but that is not how this palette is shaping up at all.

The Josie Maran Argan Beautiful Eyes eyeshadow palette in Beautiful Nudes contains 11 grams of product and retails for a whopping $36 wherever Josie Maran is sold.  I got mine at Sephora.

Overall:  3/10

Hard Candy Glamoflage Heavy Duty Concealer in Ultra Light

A while ago, I picked up the Hard Candy Glamoflauge Heavey Duty Concealer in Ultra Light after hearing good things about it on YouTube.

The packaging I purchased had both the Glamoflage concealer and a mini concealer pencil.

I really don't ever use drugstore brand concealers.  I've just never had good luck at all with them, so I sort of swore off the entire lot.  However, I've heard really great things about the Hard Candy Glamoflage concealer, so I decided to give it a try.

First impressions:  The formula separates easily.  It reminded me a lot of Too Faced Shadow Insurance or OCC Lip Tars in that the pigment seemed to separate out of the mixing medium and even when it looked mixed in the tube, when dispensed, it always seemed to be a clump of mixed concealer swimming in a pool of extra fluid.  Not great, but at this price point and this big of a tube, I don't feel bad wasting product.

It does have a nozzle tip dispenser, which I really like.  It makes it easier to control how much product you get and it allows you to keep the product sanitary.

The product (when well mixed) does have a good amount of pigmentation.  It covers well - not the greatest I've ever seen, but well.  And a little bit goes a long way.  

My biggest complaint with the product is that the formula reminds me a lot of liquid lipsticks.  It has a slightly tacky feel to it.  It's not creamy. In spite of that, I didn't feel like it settled too much into my under eye wrinkles - but there was some.  Don't get me wrong, it didn't look great, but it didn't look near as bad as I expected given the texture.  I do think the fact that the pigments seem to separate from the mixing medium can make it look patchy, especially if applied in a thin layer.

The other thing,  it doesn't dry to a completely matte finish.  It retains a kind of sheen, even when dry.  I do always set my concealers with powder, which took down the sheen, but still, it's disappointing.  

I will say however, that this particular texture would allow you to apply it in really thin coats, let it dry down and then apply more where you need it.  If that's what you're looking for, then this would be great.

The pigmentation is good.  It has good coverage.  As far as the color, Ultra Light definitely isn't the lightest concealer I've ever seen - I'm not complaining about that.  I swatched it next to my NARS Pure Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla (which is not the lightest shade in the NARS range) and it was a pretty spot on match.  The Hard Candy Ultra Light is a bit pinker, but otherwise, they're really close.  (The NARS does have better coverage).

Wear time wasn't the greatest.  It looked good for 5 hours, but after that it just sort of ... disappeared.  It didn't smudge off or flake off or settle into the fine lines (any more than it did upon initial application), but by the 8 hour mark it was pretty much just gone.

The little concealer pencil that came with the Glamoflage was a total fail.  The formula was super yellow and about 3 shades darker than the Glamoflage.  It was thick and sticky and didn't blend out worth a damn.  As far as extras go, I wish they wouldn't have bothered.

All in all, I think this is a fantastic drugstore concealer.  It works better on spot concealing blemishes than it does on my under eyes.  It's not the greatest concealer I've ever used and it's probably not even in my top 5, but it has a great price point.  My favorite concealers are all high end and are easily 5 times or more as expensive as this product.  For the price, it's great, but that is not my biggest consideration.  If it's yours, you may want to check this out.

Hard Candy Glamoflage Heavy Duty concealer in Ultra Light contains a whopping 20 grams of product.  Hard Candy is cruelty free and is available only at Wal-Mart.  Glamoflage retails for $6.

Overall:  6/10

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in #343 Cherie Merie

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in #343 Cherie Merie is limited edition and was released with the L'Oreal Summer 2013 collection.  I have been on the lookout for this eyeshadow since I saw the first press releases back in May.

I have looked everywhere for this color.  I have looked at places like Ulta, Beauty.com, every drugstore I've wandered into all summer, Target, Wal-Mart, you name it.  I even tried trading for it on Makeup Alley and no dice.

This morning, I stopped by Wal-Mart to pick up some file boxes and low and behold, there on an endcap was Cherie Merie.

Even after all the hype, I have to say that this color does not disappoint.  It is a rich, warm coral.  It does contain gold microglitter and it has a lovely sheen, but it definitely isn't sparkly on the lid.

Like most of the Infallible eyeshadows, it had phenomenal color payoff.  The only downside?  This color stains like crazy.  

The L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in #343, Cherie Merie, is limited edition, but theorhetically available wherever L'Oreal is sold (good luck finding it).  It contains 3.5 grams of product.  I picked mine up for $6.97 at Wal-Mart.

Overall:  8/10

Sonia Kashuk Chic Luminosity Bronzer/Blush Duo in #53 Glow

As a general rule, I photograph my products before I use them because no one wants to see gunky cosmetics after they've been put through the wringer.  So I will apologize in advance because I did not photograph this particular product before using it.  That's because I had no intention of reviewing it.  I had to take a trip and I was in a pinch.  On a whim at Target, I picked up a decent looking blush and bronzer duo because hey, why not?

However, after several months of using this product I absolutely LOVE it.  So, here's the belated pictures and review.

This product comes in 3 shades, #51 - Glimmer, #52 - Glisten & #53 - Glow.  I would love to give you an official synopsis of how the products differ, but there isn't one.  And to be honest, the different shades didn't look terribly different in the store.  Maybe on the skin there's a big difference, I can't say for sure.  I picked up Glow because the blush shade appealed to be the most.

The product has the same snakeskin pattern that a lot of the Sonia Kashuk products have.  The design is very resilient and even after months of regular use, this is what it looks like.  The bronzer looks crazy metallic in the pan, but on the skin isn't nearly as full throttle as you'd think.

(daybulbs)

The bronzer is a very warm red-gold when heavily swatched.  It has phenomenal color payoff and a great texture.  On my skin, lightly applied, it is very warm and much more of a blush than a bronzer per se.  

The blush is a very warm peachy pink with good color payoff.  The texture of it reminded me a lot of the new MAC Extra Dimension blushes that came out this summer.

Both products have a lot of sheen, but no shimmer or glitter.  I love to use the two products together.  I run the bronzer along the back of my cheekbones to give some color, but also definition.  Then I put the blush on the apples of my cheeks.

(indirect sunlight)

Both products wear really well on me.  I get probably 6 hours out of the blush before there's any fading at all.  I get a good 10 hours out of the bronzer before there's fading.  I absolutely love this product.  I love the color.  I love the fact that the compact is super easy to just throw in a bag and go.  It does double duty as blush and bronzer, super convenient.

When I say I love this product, I mean it.  I alternate this almost every day with my Guerlain Terra Ora bronzer, which is easily 6 times the price.  I LOVE this.

The Sonia Kashuk Chic Luminosity Bronzer/Blush duo in #53 Glow contains 6.8 grams of product and retails for $12.99 at Target.

Overall:  10/10

Guerlain Terra Ora Sculpting Powder and Contrast Highlighter for Summer 2013

Guerlain's Terra Ora Sculpting Powder and Contrast Highlighter is the limited edition summer 2013 Guerlain bronzer.  As far as I can tell, Guerlain does these every summer.  Last summer it was the Emelio Pucci Terra Azzurra blush/bronzer.

I should have taken a picture of me holding it, but I forgot.  This is NOT the huge one (that's the Guerlain Terra Neroli).  This compact fits neatly in the palm of my hand, but it still contains a good bit of product - 16 grams.  And to be clear, it should at this price point.

I've seen all sorts of blog and YouTube reviews on this product.  My favorite one was a YouTube review instructing people to stop treating this as a bronzer (and being disappointed) because it is meant to give you an all over healthy glow.  WHAT.  EVER. omg.

As with just about every other color product on the planet, a big part of what this product does will be dictated by your particular skintone (and often, skintype).  This product is a light golden beige.  On my pasty pale face, it absolutely is a bronzer.  On someone with a medium skintone, I could definitely see this being an all over glow product.  And on someone with a deep skintone, I suspect it would mostly be a waste of money, but could possibly be used as a highlighter, at least the center gold section.

I need a gold highlighter like I need a hole in the head, so I don't ever use the very center part.  I just don't.  I use the outer ring and here is a swatch of it on my skin

I think it is absolutely gorgeous.  It is very finely milled.  On the skin is has a beautiful sheen without any obvious shimmer or glitter.  It applies like a breeze, wears a solid 10 hours on my dry skin without a problem.  It doesn't emphasize pores (and trust me, I have some serious pores).  

The design on the product itself is gorgeous and shockingly resilient.  I've been using this thing for literally months and the design is still visible.

The compact is made of wood and has three magnetic closures.  The two halves of the compact come completely apart.  I'm fairly indifferent to this packaging.  It's okay.  I don't love it and I don't hate it.  I think it's fine.  The Terra Neroli bronzer comes in plastic packaging which I am much less excited about.

The Guerlain Terra Ora Sculpting Powder and Contrast Highlighter for Summer 2013 contains 16 grams of product and retails for a whopping $72 wherever Guerlain is sold.  I bought mine at Nordstrom.  Most retailers still have some in stock.  I get that at this price point, this would definitely be a miss for some people, but I absolutely love everything about this.

Overall:  10/10