NYX High Voltage Lipsticks: Review and Swatches

 So, remember how I was on that no-buy? Me either. But seriously, I've been trying to keep my makeup buying to a minimum lately, but if you want a little pick me up for the start of Spring, let me introduce you to the NYX High Voltage Lipsticks.

 

I tend to gravitate towards NYX when I want something reliable, for a good price, and easily accessible (found at Ulta/Target/drugstores/online). Not to mention they are cruelty free! These little tubes of lipstick will set you back $6 each (but watch out for BOGO 1/2 off lippies at Ulta). I believe these are NYX's answer to the Colourpop Lippie Stix (just my speculation) because they perform similarly and come in tons of colors (22!).

 

I picked up 3 of these recently and now that I have tried them out, I want more! 

There are no real claims that NYX makes for these, other than that they are creamy and vibrant (both true in my experience). They have a faint vanilla scent and last an average amount of time on me (around 3 hours).

 Stone is light brown color with a tinge of gray in it. It covers my medium-pigmented lips fairly well and is nice and creamy in consistency. I picked up this color because I have been seeing a lot of browns/grays in lip colors, particularly on Instagram, but I will in no way purchase from Lime Crime to get that trendy look (this reminds me of that Cashmere shade, I think it is called). It isn't the most flattering on my skin tone, but it layers well with pinks, and who knows when I may want to look a little ghoulish? Color aside, I love the consistency. These are creamy so they will not last all day (2.5-3 hours for all shades I have).

Playdate is a lavender and I love it! At this price point, especially if you can use a coupon or get a deal, why not pick up a fun color? This was much more pigmented than I was expecting and it is really fun!

Rags to Riches is the most 'normal' of the colors I picked out, but it is still a bit unexpected. See that gold sheen? I love that! This is a coral/pink with a light gold shimmer and I think it is perfect for the season.

Have you tried these? I want to pick up Wine and Dine, Dahlia, and Free Spirit next!

Benefit Roller Lash: Review

Hey everyone! I know you guys have been waiting for my thoughts on Benefit's Roller Lash!

 

 Let us start with these 'claims'. 

For $24 you get a mascara that supposedly "lifts and super curls lashes", "holds curl for 12 hours" and "removes easily". It has a special hook and lift brush that mimics those old school hair rollers. The packaging is really cute...but am I smitten?

 

The brush is probably the coolest part of the product. It has a slight curve to it, but it is a small brush, with longer, wider spaced brushes on one side, and shorter, denser ones on the other. This design makes it easy to do lower lashes and it is definitely not as spiky as 'They're Real', so it doesn't hurt your eyes. I do think the brush shape helps lift the lashes well.

Roller Lash gives great definition and I do believe it helps hold a curl. But please...it does not work miracles. I have seen reviews out there of people saying it transformed their stick straight lashes into curly wonders WITHOUT an eyelash curler. That is not what this mascara claims to do. It just helps to hold the curl and I do feel it does, but when I tried it without my lash curler, I did not get results. The curl does fall a bit over the day, but that could just be my lashes.

 The formula is a good consistency and very black, which I like. Because the wand is smaller, I am able to control it better and get the results I want. I do not have any flaking or smudging and it does remove easily. 

Here are my lashes with an extra coat (beware, it can get clumpy after one) and at the end of the day. There is still good lift, but don't expect this mascara to do it all. Definition and lift, but no real volume here.

Overall, I am happy with Roller Lash. It does what it says if you ignore the crazy language of 'super curl', is comfortable to wear, and easy to apply. Is this going to free you from your lash curler? No way. Is this the mascara of your dreams? Probably not. Hey, I am just being honest. I won't over-hype something. I am satisfied, but not jumping up and down. 

What do you think? Will you be lifting your lashes with Roller Girl?

Cinderella x MAC Free As A Butterfly Lipstick and Cinderella FOTD

Image Source

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!

Rimmel Special Edition Kate Moss Gel Liner in Emerald

Hey friends!

This little pot of liner is something I have seen popping up in random places lately, but it isn't even on Ulta's website (I found it in an Ulta store)!

 

 The Rimmel ScandalEyes gel liners are part of the permanent range, but this Emerald shade is special edition and part of a Kate Moss release, so it has her signature on the top of the pot instead of a crown.

 

At $8 and 2.4g of product, price-wise this is great for a gel liner. It also comes with a small but very nice eyeliner brush. I was intrigued by the color more than anything because emerald is supposed to really make brown eyes pop!

 

In the pot, it almost looks like a matte emerald, but when swatched there is a bit of metallic sheen and some very small and sparse particles of green glitter. However, it translates as almost matte on the eye. 

 

Here you can see more of the difference between the two tones of the liner. The liner lasts 11 hours on my upper lash line and doesn't flake or smear. This is what I love about the product!

But the reason I am not jumping up and down?

 That pretty emerald doesn't translate well onto my lid. It looks like more of a forest green and the sparkles make it hard to apply and make even. As you can see, in trying to build up the color it got patchy in places. It is still workable with patience, but this won't be something I will reach for everyday because of that hassle. I still love the way it looks against my brown eyes, but I wish it had more of a wow factor.

Have you seen this? Will you be picking it up? With a coupon at CVS/Ulta/Walgreens it might be worth it for the staying power if you want to take the time to fiddle with it.