Inglot Classic Lipstick Review: Shade 254

 

You may have seen on Insta that I teased some goodies from Inglot that Mama Panda picked up for me. One of them was this pretty Inglot Classic lipstick in the shade 254. There are so many shades of Inglot lipstick and she picked the perfect one for me!

The tubes are basic black, square, with the Inglot logo, and contain .16 oz of product. and retail for $15.

Inglot describes their classic lipstick line as having Vitamin E and Apricot Kernal Oil to moisturize lips. This lipstick definitely has a sheen/cream finish to it, is non-sticky, and lasted four hours. It fades nicely but since this shade does have some glitter in it, tiny particles do linger for a while. It doesn't look garish--just a hint of sparkle.

Inglot does not provide shade descriptions, but 254 is a shimmery bright rose pink. This appears even brighter on the lips, but still is sheer enough to let some of your natural lip color show through. My lips felt very comfortable during wear.

Overall, I really love the Inglot formula. I didn't have much to go on, seeing as this is my first experience with the brand, but if I do get to visit a store, I will defintely be trying more. I want to swatch some more! My only complaint is the numbers instead of names. I get so much joy from a good lipstick name, am I alone here?

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: August 2015

Hey Pandas!    I have something a little bit different for you today. I've been on a pretty low buy recently and have made an active effort to use up things I currently have. But along with testing and trying things comes the inevitable dud. So I've created this series to document that!  

  The Good (and also a little bad this time around) It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Plus Keratin ($20): I really love this stuff! It is a leave in treatment and the addition of the keratin really helps my fine hair. It also serves as a protection from heat styling for me and just leaves my hair silky and looking fantastic with very little effort. The only downside is that I go through it very quickly (a month) because of the length of my hair. That's $240 a year. I've only bought two bottles but this will be my last for a while because I am looking for a cheaper alternative. I highly highly recommend anything from this line if you are looking for a conditioning/heat protecting spray though, it just doesn't fit into my budget right now. Benefit Roller Lash ($24): One of the better hyped up mascaras I have tried in a long, long time. Slightly lifts my lashes, gives me the length I want, and doesn't flake. Awesome...except for the $24 price tag. It's 3 months are up so I'm throwing it out. The Bad Beauty Blender Solid Cleanser ($16): This is the sorry little empty container on the far left. This is my second repurchase but will be my last. It does a nice job cleaning brushes, but is way overpriced for what you get. I wash a lot of brushes and I wash them once a week or more and I go through this solid cleanser like water. It just doesn't last and gets really grimy and messy fast.  The Ugly Benefit Lash Glue ($8): Who even knows what possessed me to buy this lash glue. My thought process went: hey...Duo glue smells like fish, maybe a pricier glue will work better, and Benefit is prestige, and I can trust them, right? Wrong.  This glue...honestly I wouldn't be surprised if it was Elmer's clear glue. It never dries. It is a watery drippy mess that gets all over your falsies and your eyes and stings everything and ruins everything. I am finally saying goodbye to this useless glue!
I hope you enjoyed these quick reviews! If you have any cheaper or better alternatives to the above products I would love to hear them!

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?

ColourPop Lippie Stix Lumiere: Swatches and Review

Welcome to my first makeup-related post of the new year! Some of you may have seen on my Instagram that I recently hauled a few things from ColourPop cosmetics, which is a brand based in Los Angeles and I have been hearing tons of buzz about (and they are cruelty-free!). I had to check them out!  

   I was going to post a review of all of my Lippie Stix at once, but through testing, I have found that they each perform differently for me, so they will be reviewed one at a time. This particular lippie stix is called Lumiere, and was created with @Kathleenlights to be a universal dusty mauve. Think a totally wearable MLBB (my lips, but better) shade, but matte. These retail for $5 each, just like everything else on their website.

 These are twist up, slanted thin crayon-type applicators and I like this because A) I might actually finish a lippie because of this and B) they are small and easy to apply and even line lips with the edge of the bullet. Warning: don't twist up too much because one of mine did break right away.

 

I'm usually not a matte person, well, not lately anyway. My lips in London were always so dry and chapped that wearing a matte was impossible, even after exfoliating. The good news about this particular matte shade is that it does not emphasize dryness.

I tested it by applying it to my lips without any balm or anything underneath and my lips were already moderately dry. This went on creamy and didn't tug on my slightly dry lips. The color was a flawless matte mauve that was so flattering. And it smells like vanilla.

I then went to brunch (with biscuits and gravy, yum!) and this stuff barely moved. A few hours later I had chinese food, but there was still a pretty stain left on my lips. In total, this wore well for 5 hours on me (including two meals) but if you don't eat or drink anything (you'll never catch me without some type of food), it will last much longer.

 

I got compliments galore and for the first two hours, this wore comfortably. After brunch, it started to get dry, and by hour four I had to put some balm on top. It didn't look dry on my lips, it just felt dry and tacky and I couldn't handle that. But that is matte territory; everyone has their limits.

Good news is that the balm didn't move the color, just made it slightly glossy, and I got a little bit more comfortable wear, pushing it to 5 hours.

I really love Lumiere. Really really. This is an easy to wear matte, but it may get a little bit dry on you, and I totally get if that is a deal-breaker. For me, this is a lip I will wear to go out for a few hours, but it is not comfortable for all day unless I put balm on it.

Have you tried any ColourPop lippie stix? I have three more shades to show you soon! If you haven't signed up for their emails yet, ColourPop sends you a $5 off coupon, which is a free product!

Happy MLK Monday!

Coastal Scents Hot Pots: Swatches and First Impressions

Hello Pandas! 
Some quick updates before we get into this post:

• I have switched to using Disqus for my comments, so let me know if you experience any difficulties
• Impressionist Nails is being regularly updated again!
• I have a new life/style blog called Wit With My Tea on Wordpress. So far there are only TV posts, but it will include fashion, accessory, travel, book, and movie posts.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled Pretty Panda Makeup :)
I have wanted to try Coastal Scents products for a long time. Even despite the low price range, I've heard great reviews about the quality. Their 'Hot Pots', which are single, magnetic eyeshadow pots that snap into empty palettes, seemed to be the best place to start.
The 12 pan palette is $5.95 and each hot pot is $1.99, but they will occasionally have sales where you can snag the hot pots for only $.99! 

Above is what my palette looked like when it was completely put together (which took all of five seconds to plop the pots into the pan). So pretty! And all for under $20 because of sales! Coastal Scents seems to always be having sales, so wait before you make a purchase.

The palette, even for being so cheap, is relatively sturdy and has a plastic lid. There are little indents to help you remove the hot pots for easy switching.

Now, I am going to go through swatches of all 12 pots I picked up:

Bungalow Gold is a fairly deep, bronze gold with a metallic finish. It applied smoothly and had a creamy feel on the skin, which was surprising. This was also very opaque.

Smashbox Be Legendary Lip Gloss in Black Tied: Swatches and Review

I caved and picked up the Smashbox Be Legendary Lip Gloss in Black Tied ($20) because I couldn't resist the idea of black gloss with multi-color sparkle in a gorgeous formula.

In my experience, black gloss can be tricky. I much prefer straight up black lipstick or liner if you really want that goth chic look that is trending right now. I wasn't expecting this to be all that pigmented and mostly wanted it for layering.

This is also described my Smashbox as 'sheer', so there are no illusions going into this gloss. The formula is the same as Coraline, nice on the lips, smooth, and non-sticky.

The sparkles, black base, and minimalist packaging make this a really stunning piece on any vanity, but do you really need this black gloss?

Here is a swatch of Black Tied. It looks kind of like dirty water on the hand. The sparkles are so minuscule and very hard to capture without blurring the photo and adding flash, but are more apparent in person. 

Above is Black Tied on lips in artificial lighting. What this gloss does is bring out the pink/cool undertones in your lips very well. So, if you are looking for a very basic gloss that will enhance your lip color for cool-toned looks, this is a good choice. Although, I know that many reading this will want/expect more of a punch out of a color like this. 

Above is a more natural lighting scenario. You can see my lips appear cooler, pinker, and slightly gray. This gloss will in no way give you any 'goth' look. I tried layering this over other glosses/lipsticks and it cools them down a bit and adds plumpness and a slight sparkle to my lips.

You are not going to get much pigmentation out of Black Tied, no matter how much you layer it, so for $20, pass on this black gloss, no matter how pretty it looks in the tube, UNLESS you are looking for an easy to wear, comfortable formula for a my lips but cooler (toned) look. I personally like the way it gives my lips a finished look when I am just wearing black liner and mascara, but it is more of a frivolous un-necessity.

Lancôme Lip Lover in Orange Manége: Swatches and Review

The Lancôme Lip Lover's are fairly new, but I have had mine for a few months, somehow forgot to review it, and realized today that I have been taking it everywhere with me. Regardless of my fascination with it, I still have mixed feelings.

The shade that I purchased at Nordstrom is called Orange Manége ($23). This was during another shopping adventure with my momma (can you tell we are best buds yet?) and she opted for Beige Adage, which was pretty, but a bit too neutral for me. (FYI my friend Meesha over at Strawberry Hearts Chocolate Darts just posted a bunch of swatches, including Beige Adage and Orange Manége, if you want to view them on a different skin tone!!)
I was captivated by the name. I mean, it has orange in it, right? And orange is the perfect summer color---it is everywhere right now and I did not have many oranges in my lip wardrobe. I swatched it in store, and the swatch was rather orange.

I fell in love and snapped it up. On my lips, however, it isn't quite as orange, and is instead a pretty rosy coral. I still love it, but I just wish it had more of a pop to it. Lancôme says these are long lasting, but they only last about 2 hours on my lips. They also claim they are 'Dewy Intense Lip Color'. Dewy--totally. My lips feel great when wearing this, which is probably why it hasn't left my purse, but intense? Look somewhere else if you want a full color gloss or liquid lipstick.

These are completely non-sticky and I love that the brush is long and flexible, with a little tip to make sure application is a breeze. And the packaging? Lancôme classy at its finest. I love the little click mechanism...it makes me feel so chic!

Now, do you wanna see it on? I thought so!

I love how dewy and fresh it makes my lips look, and there is a slight shimmer that you can see on my bottom lip. Is it a showstopper of a color? Not really...but it is great for everyday wear.

Studio Gear Hydrating CC Cream SPF 20 in Linen: Swatches, Thoughts, and Review

This is my first CC Cream ever! So, naturally, I was so excited to try it when I received the Studio Gear Hydrating CC Cream in Linen for testing purposes through Brandbacker.  I am already familiar with and like Studio Gear, and because the weather is starting to warm up in California, a CC Cream would be a nice break from foundation on the weekends.

Studio Gear Hydrating CC Cream SPF 20 in Linen retails for $34 (again, my sample was powered by Brandbacker). There are three shades: Linen, Natural, and Wheat. Linen is the lightest and this also has an SPF of 20. Here is a little bit about the product: "Hydrating CC Cream transforms and enhances your complexion in an incredibly light, smooth formula. This foundation simultaneously fights aging, retains moisture, and covers and treats blemishes with a non-oily, perfectly radiant finish".

Key Benefits:

"Prevents fine lines and wrinkles with collagen-building ingredients
Restores skin elasticity by promoting moisture retention
Brightens and illuminates skin with a non-oily, complete coverage application".
Do I agree with these claims made by Studio Gear? Yes...I do...from what I have tested so far.
This CC Cream is very hydrating and my skin feels good, but not oily, when wearing it, which is great because my t-zone is prone to being oily. It is also radiant and has that light, smooth formula . I do feel my skin is illuminated, but the coverage is very very light for me. It does not cover my acne well.
If you have a flawless face, this is all you need, but I needed to set this with a bit of powder to have more coverage, which is fine, because it is still lighter than foundation!
I cannot comment on the treating of acne or the preventing of fine lines and wrinkles because I have not tested it long enough to see long term results. However, I can say it has not aggravated any blemishes of mine further.

This is the first stage of the CC Cream--- (and this is about enough for a full face): Goes on white with little granules in it that produce the color.

Above it is smoothed out and rubbed in half way.

Sorry the picture is a bit blurry, but the tone is accurate. This is the CC Cream on my skin. Matches my skin well (maybe a bit too yellow right now, but will be perfect in summer---keep in mind I am VERY fair) and as you can see it minimizes redness but does not fully cover acne. You can layer on problem areas, but the overall effect is just dewy, healthy skin.

I can be into that...I need to let go of my fear of people seeing my skin anyway. Maybe Studio Gear CC Cream will help me with that!

Overall: Great product...and for my first CC Cream, I am surprised at how much I like it. It does smell like sunscreen, which does not bother me. Also, if you are very fair, like me...this is a good summer product but may be too dark for winter skin. Everyone else...go for it!

Want one for yourself...check it out at Studio Gear's website!

To help you try it out...or anything else from Studio Gear, the brand and Brandbacker has given me a discount code for you guys!

Reader Discount: 10% Off
Reader Discount Code: bloggercc

Happy CC-ing!

NYX Butter Lipstick in Cotton Candy: Thoughts, Review, and Swatches

Many of you have seen teaser pics of my haul including one of the brand new NYX Butter Lipsticks and the review is finally here!I have been a fan of NYX's Butter glosses, so the thought of a similar lipstick intrigued me. There is a wide range of colors, but I went against my normal shopping habits and picked out a very light pink.With 22 shades to choose from at $5.99 there is sure to be something to please everyone. I found this at Ulta, but the displays are already running dry! And they also don't have all the colors.

The packaging of these lipsticks is cuter than their regular matte lipsticks (which have the same packaging in black), but they still look a tad little-girlish and cheap. However, the color makes it easy to find in your stash. 

The smell of these is slightly sweet and a bit artificial, but you really have to sniff them to pick up on that. The formula of these is actually really nice. These are buttery and glide onto the lips well, providing a nice opacity of coverage. 

Cotton Candy is a very very light baby pink, so be aware of that, since it looks much darker than it appears on the lips. For this color, prep lips well. Other, darker colors in this line seem to be much more swipe and go.

Cotton Candy gives my pout a very springy and mod vibe. Butter Lipsticks are comfortable to wear, but only last me about 2 and a half hours. I just find them a little too light to really stick around, but I've never been one to mind reapplying a lip product on normal, non special event days.

Keep in mind, this wear time may only be for the lighter colors. I am hoping to pick up a darker shade to compare. 

Overall, I think NYX Butter Lipsticks are a great product at a nice price point and I have been reaching for Cotton Candy often since I have picked it up!

Have you tried any of the NYX Butter Lipsticks? Thoughts?

NYX Butter Lipstick in Cotton Candy: Thoughts, Review, and Swatches

Many of you have seen teaser pics of my haul including one of the brand new NYX Butter Lipsticks and the review is finally here! I have been a fan of NYX's Butter glosses, so the thought of a similar lipstick intrigued me. There is a wide range of colors, but I went against my normal shopping habits and picked out a very light pink. With 22 shades to choose from at $5.99 there is sure to be something to please everyone. I found this at Ulta, but the displays are already running dry! And they also don't have all the colors.

The packaging of these lipsticks is cuter than their regular matte lipsticks (which have the same packaging in black), but they still look a tad little-girlish and cheap. However, the color makes it easy to find in your stash. 

The smell of these is slightly sweet and a bit artificial, but you really have to sniff them to pick up on that. The formula of these is actually really nice. These are buttery and glide onto the lips well, providing a nice opacity of coverage. 

Cotton Candy is a very very light baby pink, so be aware of that, since it looks much darker than it appears on the lips. For this color, prep lips well. Other, darker colors in this line seem to be much more swipe and go.

Cotton Candy gives my pout a very springy and mod vibe. Butter Lipsticks are comfortable to wear, but only last me about 2 and a half hours. I just find them a little too light to really stick around, but I've never been one to mind reapplying a lip product on normal, non special event days.

Keep in mind, this wear time may only be for the lighter colors. I am hoping to pick up a darker shade to compare. 

Overall, I think NYX Butter Lipsticks are a great product at a nice price point and I have been reaching for Cotton Candy often since I have picked it up!

Have you tried any of the NYX Butter Lipsticks? Thoughts?

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Smoldering Plum Swatches and Review

I recently hauled some buy-one-get-one half off products at Ulta and this eye shadow was one of them. Retailing for around $6 (depending on location), I snagged this little pot of purple at the discount.

Smoldering Plum caught my eye, even though we are fast approaching spring, I am still hanging on tightly to the winter colors. I figured this might be a good crease shadow.

These shadows are packed tightly, and I feel would have a looser consistency if not for the plastic stopper in the package to keep the powder pressed. These are rather messy once you remove that, and I honestly find this shadow a bit of a pain....but I persevered on because of the color.

The darkened plum mixed with red glitter really got my hopes up. This is not a new shade, but I felt it may be something really unique in my collection. I did get a little OCD and clean around the packaging after taking this picture because I can't stand the messiness).

This is the initial swatch, done with a finger and no primer. I wasn't as 'wowed' as I hoped I would be, but the red glitter is still pretty apparent. The good news is this goes on smoothly and with little fallout, despite the consistency.

The bad news is that this is the best swatch of the product. It looks muddied on my eyelids and although it does wear all day with a good primer, it is nothing special in an actual look. Now I wish I would have picked out another color instead. But---all hope is not lost. I try to never give up on a product, and will continue experimenting, maybe placing this over a black creme base. 

Happy Superbowl Sunday!