Baby Lips Gloss in Berry Chic: Swatch and Review

 

More lip product reviews coming your way, and today I am reviewing the new Baby Lips Lip Gloss in the color Berry Chic. These retail for around $4, but I have seen them for less and more (Ulta is having BOGO 1/2 off Maybelline now so this is a good time to get some!).

These things have been blowing up the beauty world. I swear, they are like Pokemon! Gotta catch 'em all! While I was like that with the Baby lips balm, I was a bit more hesitant here. Early swatches from other bloggers didn't seem promising, so I chose the pretty red color from the 'jelly' collection, which I heard performed the best. 

The tubes themselves are very cute, each with a fun contrasting color and a small doe foot applicator. This formula really is jelly-like. To me, it smells a bit like floral Jell-o, but it isn't too strong. I have heard that some people can't stand it, but I don't mind it.

As you can see from my swatch, there is barely any color to this gloss. If anything, a very faint coral/orange red, but definitely not 'berry'. It does ever so slightly darken my natural lip color.

 

This is glossy and seems to blur the lines on my lips. It is a great topper gloss and if you want to wear it alone, well it is very moisturizing! For the past week it has replaced my lip balm! It just feels good on...non sticky, a little thick and jelly-like, and gives me moisture.

But the bottom line? You only need one, if any. These won't give you more than a whisper of color, but they are comfy, cute, fit well in a pocket, and are good on the go or to top off other lip colors. A fun idea from the Baby Lips fam, but I'll be passing by the display next time.

L'Oreal Le Matte Lip Colour Stick in She's So Matte: Swatches and Review

Hey friends!

  I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my vacation pictures on my Instagram, but I am back. And I picked up a ton of makeup goodies there, which I will be showing you as I get through testing.   The L'Oreal Me Matte Lip Colour sticks have piqued my interest because I am all about the matte finish (as is seemingly everyone else), but I am still on the lookout for a comfortable matte. Colourpop comes close, as does Nars, but my lips are very very sensitive to dryness even with proper moisture and prep. Still, I am a sucker and picked up the Le Matte color in She's So Matte ($9.99), which is a muted, very slightly brown-toned pink.  

 The stick is a very thin, twist up, domed lip crayon, which makes application a breeze. There is no tugging or pulling upon application. 

 

It does emphasize lip lines, as do most mattes. It wore very well for about 4 hours through talking and food/drinks. It was mildly uncomfortable after the first hour, but not so much that I wanted to claw my lips off. It played well with Chapstick brand balm as well as Jack Black balm. Neither took away the color, but the matteness will dissapear with any balm application.

What I do absolutly love about this product is that it stains! I had the most gorgeous stain still on my lips the morning after I wore it, and it continued to hold strong for a few hours more. This product does not claim to stain, but it was a nice surprise! Overall, I probably won't be picking up another color of these because I don't see another that I HAVE to have, but as far as mattes go, this is wearable and the stain makes this a great lip to wear for going out. It fades evenly and color sticks around. Have you tried these? Thoughts?

 

Clinique Cheek Pop in Pansy Pop: Swatches and Review

Things are hectic right now here at Panda Headquarters, but I wanted to share this review before the weekend got underway, especially because I love this blush so much that it will be on my face tomorrow at my Master's graduation. That is high honors for a blush, I tell ya!

But before I begin, there is a bit of a story with this one. My momma and I have been looking for these new colors forever. When they first launched, even our Clinique SA's had no idea there were new colors! (Does this ever happen to you?). My Ulta has had an empty display where they are supposed to go for a month. Sephora was picked over/sold out. What was a girl to do?

Finally my momma and I begged the Clinique SA's to go check the stock at Nordstroms to see if they were in. Hmm...they were! The SA's were going gaga over these blushes like they'd never even heard of 'em! Case in point, I got to be the first to swatch the brand new testers and left with the color Pansy, a gorgeous lavendar pink. Patience is a virtue!

 

Pansy Pop (15) retails for $21 and should be able to be found at Sephora/Ulta/Clinique. After swatching some of the colors and seeing dismal pigmentation, Pansy blew me away and I snatched it up!

Pansy Pop is unlike any other blushes I own. I may not have a big stash of blush, but I have mostly pinks, corals, and reds, but nothing cool-toned like this. I've been wearing it non-stop! It lasts for 8 hours on my combo skin and has the dewiest glow to it. I feel that this shade works best applied in layers with a stippling brush for the perfect finish!

 I love the unique hue, the wear, and the finish so much I will be wearing it tomorrow, on one of the most momentous days of my life to date! Yay Clinique Cheek Pops!

Do you have one (or all?) of these?

Cinderella x MAC Free As A Butterfly Lipstick and Cinderella FOTD

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I will be the first to admit that Cinderella is not my favorite princess, but I have been beyond excited to see the new Cinderella movie for months now. It may have to do with a combination of things: the impeccable Lily James, Kenneth Branagh directing, Helena Bonham Carter as the fairy godmother...my British-loving heart soars! But the promised beauty of the whole movie---from the costumes to the makeup also made me eager to see it.    I am not a huge fan of MAC right now, especially their limited edition collections. It seems they pump out too many and the quality is never there, but I caved for the Cinderella collection. With a gift card I was able to snag only one lipstick, as most things had sold out by the time I got around to ordering. It is mostly a collectors' item for me, but this post will be a review of the lipstick (probably not useful since I am not sure where you can get it, but maybe fun?) and the FOTD that I wore to go see the movie this afternoon!

The lipstick I got is 'Free As A Butterfly', which honestly, as a name, confused the heck out of me. But if you see the movie, it becomes more apparent. There are butterflies everywhere! It was $17.50, and comes in a gorgeous pale blue/purple shift tube with the gold Cinderella logo. Free As A Butterfly is a nude/champagne glitter.

 

Gorgeous right? But as I feared, it isn't very pigmented. This makes a good topper to another lip look because it settles into my lip lines when worn alone and almost gives me zombie-lips. But the nice, typical vanilla-MAC scent and the comfortable wear make me wanna swipe it on anyway, even if it will settle in ten minutes' time.

It isn't the most horrible lip look, especially not from far away, but it may not be your cup of tea on it's own. However, I will cherish it because my mom's favorite princess is Cinderella and anything Cinderella reminds me of her. Naturally, she was my date to the movie!

To prepare for this momentous occasion, I had to do a FOTD (which the lovely ticketing girl noticed. WIN). I was inspired by the promo images and the image I put at the beginning of this post---that dress!

 

I went with blue eyes, peachy cheeks, and of course, Free As A Butterfly on the lips.

Below are the products I used:

From left to right:

Benefit Roller Lash: Jury is still out on this one. Review coming soon!

NYX Tinted Brow Mascara in Blonde: A lovely, basic tinted mousse.

Bare Minerals Morning Glow loose shadow: I used this as a highlight on my eyes. It is a pearlized pink shimmer and gave just the right amount of sparkle.

NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk: To prime and make the baby blue color pop.

Clinique Clubby Stick in Big Blue: Washed over the lid.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Khol Liner in Light Blue: Used on lower lash line.

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics colour pencil in Pool Boy: Also on lower lash line to pop the edge of the black liner.

MAC Free As A Butterfly lipstick: One light wash on lips.

Sleek Makeup blush in Rose Gold: On cheeks

I also used a L'Oreal black felt tip liner and IT Cosmetics foundation and concealer (not pictured).

Have you seen the movie? I highly suggest it! I might try to recreate some of the looks. The stepsisters' looks were crazy awesome!