Shakeup Your Makeup

New this summer to the Avon Glazewear line were the Duo Reflect lip glosses.  There are four shades to choose from, which you can see here on their website.  I picked the lightest - Pink Flip.  This is a clear base with a shimmer that goes from pearl to pink based on the angle/lighting. 

Applicator is a doe-foot, just like the rest of the Glazewear line.

Below are swatches on bare skin.  You can see how it goes from sheer to pink in based on the lighting.  I had to do this without the flash, because the flash actually washed out the coloring. 

On the lips, it adds just the slightest pink hue.  This would actually be gorgeous on top of lipstick as well.  It also is a nice alternative to just a plain clear gloss. 

Formula is the same as normal Glazewears - smooth, fairly long lasting without being sticky, and shiny. 

Have you tried these out yet?  What is your favorite Glazewear shade?

I can't believe I haven't posted pictures of these yet!  I'm so behind (or else my stash is getting THAT big that I behind as a result of it...that's probably more the truth!).  Sally Beauty's own line is called Sally Girl.  This line consists of lip gloss, eye shadows, liners, nail polish...and a majority of it falls at $0.99 a piece!  Well, I can't turn down a $0.99 price tag, so I picked up three of the baked eyeshadows to play around with.

First of all - look at how cute and tiny these are.  They really are a great size - they are easy to travel with, you aren't stuck with a ton of product that you won't ever use up, and at the price, it gives you the flexibility to try out other colors or products without your wallet yelling at you...

First up - Gold.  Gold is a pale gold.  It's a silver gold.  It's very, very metallic and has tiny silver shimmer swirled throughout.  Because this is such a metallic shadow, you can't see the swirls of silver below, but take my word for it, they are there.

Next up - Dark Aqua.  This is a true turquoise, in my opinion.  Although it is difficult to see in the product shot below, there is a bit of a golden undertone to this shade.  I'd say it's more of the shimmer than anything else, but this isn't a real cool turquoise or aqua, but instead is a warmer shade. 

Last up - Dark Purple.  This is a warmer eggplant purple with swirls of a purple/blue throughout.  The shimmer reflects back more of a silver/pewter shade.  This is a beautiful color and really reminds me of royalty

Swatches below are on bare skin - no primer.  Really, that's not to shabby for a $0.99 product is it?  The least pigmented of the bunch is the Aqua.  The purple and gold are very pigmented.  The product is nice and smooth.  It's not exactly creamy, but it's also not dry.  I am not concerned about the shadow crumbling in the container, but at the same time, the shadows are easy to blend and work with.  You can see the blue shades reflecting through on the purple in the swatch pictures below. 

I have to say, I'm impressed.  A $0.99 eyeshadow that has a broad color selection, is frosty, and nicely pigmented?  That packs quite a punch, doesn't it?

Have you tried these shadows before?  What about any of the other Sally Girl products?  Thoughts:?

Target is my weakness.  I try to tell myself I'm going to walk in there for one thing, and I end up coming out with a cart full of goodies.  Well, my last trip there was no exception.  I noticed some sparkly goodies on the Sonia Kashuk display, so I wandered over and discovered this: Showstoppers. 

Showstoppers, a metallic eyeshadow quad, instantly made me think of the holidays: Silver and Gold. 

All four colors are metallics - we're talking chunky, glitter metallics.  Think MAC Crushed Metals metallics, but only a pressed version instead of a loose pigment.  These are creamy.  They are almost waxy.  I actually think Sonia Kashuk had Maybelline beat when it comes to that shimmery "top coat" they put in their Color Explosion pallets now.  These are exactly the consistency of these, only the base has some pigmentation, where Maybellines is more of a "clear" base with glitter. 

The four colors are: bright white pearl, deep bronze/brown, cool but pale gold, and intense charcoal black.

These are very much 'foils' - they smooth across the skin very easily, especially when you consider how chunky they look in the pan.  I will say blending is a little more difficult with these than a normal eyeshadow.  I prefer to use my finger because I think the warmth of your finger against the product helps it blend, but I still have some difficulty with it.  Instead, I like to play off of Maybellines marketing genius with the Color Explosion quints, and use them as a shimmering top to my eyeshadow look.  If I do a smokey eye, I'll add the charcoal on top to add more sparkle and intensity.  I use the gold or white in the inner corners of a look to really brighten and widen the eyes.  The brown is just gorgeous, too.  I've used a liner brush along my lower lashlines with these too - it works really well.

Swatches are below - one with flash and one without. 

Sparkles, foils and shimmers oh my!  I love it, and can't wait to use these around the holidays when I tend to use more silver and gold combos. 

There are other quads available in an assortment of colors - have you picked any of these up? 

I am a Glossaholic...need proof?  Look above - that's one drawer full of lip glosses.  This isn't included the numerous glosses strewn throughout the 3-5 randomly placed purses in my house, car and office.  Yes, I am a Glossaholic and I know it. 

Saying that, it was only appropriate that I picked up two of the Hard Candy Glossaholic Sequin Saturated Shine Lip Glosses at Walmart about a week ago.  From the Hard Candy website:

These are called Sequin Saturated because of the foiled effect of the gloss.  I love this type of glitter in my nail polishes (think Sally Hansen "Hidden Treasure"), and thought it might be a neat effect in a lipgloss as well.  The pictures of the applicators below give you a good idea as to the amount of the foil in the actual product - sometimes looking at the full tube (above) can be a bit intimidating.  Don't let it fool you - these are very, very wearable.

Swatches on the skin and lips below.  The swatches on the skin are pretty generous, so you get more of a feel for the color against skintone.  On the lips it is one swipe.  You'll notice on the lips you don't get a lot of color.  Obviously, adding a little more will give you somewhat of a *pop* of color in the Fireball, but it's not over-the-top.  I was actually surprised to find that it was as sheer as it was.  To be honest, this would look nice on top of a lipstick - not only is the gloss very shiny, but I think the foils would stand out better against more of an opaque background of a lipstick, versus my actual lips.

Now, onto the little surprise.  If you remember above, the description online mentioned a "Ginormous applicator".  Yes, ginormous is a word, but we'll address that at another time.  The applicator...is...HUGE.  Look at it below compared to a "normal" sized doe-foot applicator!  Isn't that unbelievable?  This is why I was apply to apply just one coat above.  At first, this was very intimidating to me, but really it just takes a bit of getting used to.  On a side note, for those of you Avon lovers out there, the new Avon SuperSHOCK Liquid Lipshines have the same, enormous, applicator.  I need to post about the colors I picked up, but that's for a later date.

Well, what do you think?  Are you going to pick up these lip glosses?  Retail price is $5 a piece, so really not bad considering the size and amount of product.  Of course, you do have to deal with the dreaded Walmart, but sometimes you just have to, right?

OPI just posted a sneak peak at their upcoming fall collection - The Muppets. 

 (Left to right): Animal-istic, Meep-Meep-Meep, Wocka Wocka, Pepes Purple Passion, Designers De Better, Warm and Fozzie, Rainbow Connection, Excuse Moi, Gone Gonzo, Fresh Frog of Bel Air, Divine Swine and Gettin' Miss Piggy With it.

I'm looking forward to seeing Warm and Fozzie, and all of the glitters, in real life.  Gettin' Miss Piggy With It...how cute! 

Every once in a while, you walk into a store and find something new (or at least new to that store) that catches your eye.  Well for me it was CVS and a discretely placed display strip of NYX Jumbo Pencils.  I read numerous reviews on the Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk, and what a wonderful eyeshadow base it is, but unfortunately it wasn't on this display.  So....I picked up Pure Gold, Rock Mountain Green and Electric Blue.

These are big guys for sure.  Very smooth and creamy.  The gold and the green were the most pigmented, followed by the blue.  These are very blendable with the finger tip as well.  Recently I thought I'd give the Pure Gold a go as a primer/base, and was very pleasantly surprised with the outcome.  Not only do you get a nice base color to work with, but the gold came through a bit on the shadow I applied over the top, making the shades work really well together.  On top of it all, my shadows didn't move in the humid weather, so I consider that a win-win situation.  I haven't tried the other two, but I would expect a similar result. 

Right now these are on sale on Cherryculture.com for $2.99 a piece, off of the regular $4.50 price.  How many of you use Milk as your primer?  What other colors are your favorites?  There are plenty to choose from, that's for sure!!

In my opinion, one of the hidden gems of the drugstore word is Jordana.  In my world, I find it at Walgreens, but if you don't have Jordana available around you, it is available online here.  While paroozing through the store the other day, I noticed some bright orange "Clearance" stickers on some of the eyeliners, so I picked them up - Jordana Glitter Rocks Retractable Eyeliners.

These are retractable eyeliners, which I really like.  Not only are they a fine-tip, but I don't have to dig around for a sharpener since they are retractable - talk about a plus!

The product itself (for all three) are rich, creamy, and extremely pigmented.  Rockabilly Brown is a bright copper - think that of a brand new penny.  Glam Rocks Green is a frosty evergreen, but brightened up by a hint of teal.  Punk Rock Purple is a bright, royal purple and even a bit cool because of a blue base to it.  All three have silver microglitter throughout.

I wore the Rockabilly Brown without any smearing or smudging through the day.  I'd say that pretty darn good, especially since these aren't advertised as long wearing, or smudgeproof. 

What's the best part of the entire deal, though?  Take a look at that picture below - $0.62 a piece!!  Really, under $1 for a stellar liner in a variety of shades?  Now that will make any girl happy!  Hurry on over to your Walgreens before these are all gone, and the new products are put in place.  You won't regret it!

Have you tried these, or snagged any other good deals on these clearance items from Jordana?  For some other Jordana items I've reviewed, take a look here. 

The pale blue looks very periwinkle in the pan, but actually comes out with more of a silver/metallic coloring when applied to the skin.  The gold is also very metallic, and as I mentioned above, what I consider to be 24K gold (like gold leafing).  The deep crease color is a true navy blue with navy shimmer.  It isn't chalky at all.  All three are very creamy and smooth.  The swatches below are applied with the sponge applicator over bare skin - no primer.  

What is your favorite Color Icon pallet that you've found?

Last week I swatched and did an EOTD with the Avon Mega Impact Eyeliner in Extreme Cobalt, and today I thought I'd swatch the eyeshadow duo in Khaki Crazed. 

There are two shades of khaki in this set - think summer chino and fall chino.  The lighter shade is an almost steel/gold ivory shade with just the slightest lean towards an olive undertone.  The deeper shade is a dark khaki brown with a hint of chocolate and green as well.  Both are shimmery and really sway back and forth between warm and cool.  Even in the pictures below it's hard to tell the difference.  Some look warm (with the flash) and then in natural light the  colors tend to lean a little cooler again.

Click the image for a larger view.

The consistency is nice - not chalky like Avon eyeshadows tend to be in my opinion.  Instead these are very smooth and even a tad bit creamy.  The pigmentation is great - these swatches were done using the sponge applicator and no primer.  Throw a primer in there, and I think you might pick up a little more of the olive undertones.

I really like how the two colors work well together.  They play off each other really well.  I also used an eyeliner brush, wet, and tested out the deeper shade as a liner, but forgot to swatch it.  That works out pretty well too.

(natural light)

(Flash)

I'll take some pictures using these shades.  I'm pretty pleased, as far as Avon eyeshadows go.  I think of the two, the lighter shade is my favorite, especially since it's different from other colors in my collection.  Would I buy them again?  Eh, probably not, just because I have other brands I prefer over Avon.  Does that mean you shouldn't give them a try?  Not at all.   Especially if they put them on sale!

Retail: $8.00 www.avon.com

There is quite the variety of colors, too, if you're not into neutrals.  Check them out below...

Have you picked one of these up yet?  What did you think?

After yesterday's swatches, I had to put together a look around this Extreme Cobalt.  I've said it before, but I'm not a huge blue-fan.  I just don't wear it a lot, and even if I do, I tend to lean towards golds and bronzes to pair with it.  I stepped away from that for the day to play with a couple colors I've ignored in my arsenal: MAC Venomous Villains "She Who Dares" (the blue side) and MAC "Idol Eyes".   Here's what I came up with.

Face:

Laura Geller Champagne Spackle

Laura Geller's Real Deal Concealer "Light"

Laura Geller Balance 'n Brighten "Fair"

Josie Maran Cream Blush "Sunrise"

Urban Decay Primer Potion "Greed" - all over lid

Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy - all over lid

MAC "Idol Eyes" - inner corner, lower lashline

MAC Venomous Villain's "She Who Dares" - blue side - outer corner, lower lash line, crease

MAC "Sugar Shot" - highlight

Avon Mega Impact Eyeliner "Extreme Cobalt" - upper lashline

Maybelline The Falsies "Flared" Mascara - black

A closeup of the eyes - isn't that Cobalt, well, blue?  It's so bright and creamy.  This is one swipe - I definitely could have evened it out, and worked on my flare a little better, but you get the picture.  I'm really surprised that my eyes look so green. 

So, have you tried out these new Mega Impact liners yet?