Spangle

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in "Strawberry Shortcake" and "Berry Smoothie"

2012-01-26T22:03:00.001-05:00

So I have this habit of buying things in pairs when trying a new makeup product. I just don't know why. One doesn't seem enough but three seems too many. This is a trend you'll probably see as time goes on. I think the reasoning is that if one of them happens to be a fluke, the other one might not be. Not sure.

So here is the latest product to be purchased in a pair, the much-discussed Revlon Lip Butters in "Strawberry Shortcake" (left) and "Berry Smoothie" (right). Strawberry Shortcake is a pink with shimmer and Berry Smoothie is a berry-red with shimmer.

They are quite pigmented for a product marketed as a lip butter. Most tinted lip balms need quite a few swipes for the tint to show up on the lips, these just need one. Many people have commented that this is almost a lipstick and I agree. It certainly feels hydrating and the texture is very smooth. One downfall is it's perhaps a little too smooth. Applying too much pressure while gliding this on can cause the product to smoosh around and make a mess when you try to rotate the product back down. Be careful!

Final verdict: absolute love, especially Strawberry Shortcake. Some people have reported that the Barbie-pink colour is a bit garish but I find that it actually works quite well with my skintone. Love it! I am planning to purchase Peach Parfait and Creme Brulee in the future. Glad I joined the bandwagon on this one.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in "Lilac Pastelle" and "Pink Pursuit"

2012-01-17T10:53:00.000-05:00

This is the first time I'm trying anything from the Revlon Super Lustrous Line, I've tried the ColourBurst lipsticks (love) and lip glosses (meh) though. These were on sale at Shopper's lately for $3.99, which is a phenomenal price for these lip glosses. Let me start by saying that I love the Super Lustrous formula way more than the ColorBurst lip glosses, the ColorBurst ones are rather thick and more of a creamy product than a gloss - some people might like this as it definitely yields intense color but personally I'm not a fan of how they feel on your lips. These Super Lustrous ones, however, are a beautiful consistency, extremely non-sticky and glides on amazingly. I am in love!!!

Above we have Lilac Pastelle on the left and Pink Pursuit on the right, I absolutely adore both. I got Pink Pursuit as a "safe" colour, since I wasn't sure if I would like the formula. It's a very easy to wear sort of muted pink with silvery shimmer, it is absolutely gorgeous and has amazing pigmentation. Lilac Pastelle is of course a lilac colour with very subtle purple shimmer that is hardly noticeable in the tube, let alone on your lips. It is more pigmented than I expected and when I first put it on, I was slightly scared at how pigmented it was. When I sheer it out though, it is just beautiful, it works with my natural lip colour and tones it down to a cool-toned pink. This colour is amazing with bold pink lipstick as well, if you're looking for something unusual and fun to add to your collection, Lilac Pastelle is a must-have. It'll turn any lip colour into a paler, more cooler-toned version. The swatches below are one swipe of the wand.

Now that I've tried these, I think I'd pick these up even if they were not on sale. The formula is top-notch and is better than some high-end lip glosses I've tried. I am definitely lemming some more colours now!

Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Stick in "Miami"

2012-01-10T12:11:00.000-05:00

I've only ever tried one product from Buxom before, which was a brownish-bronze lip gloss that was extremely goopy and probably gave me nightmares. It had come in a Sephora lip kit, and ever since I've been pretty averse to their products. Recently my friend gifted me this mini lip stick, which I believe is from the Mix & Mingle set.

This is 0.015 oz of product which is very little... I suspect it will be used up very quickly. However, keep in mind this is a mini size and the full size is 0.03 oz which is still not a lot - your standard lipstick will come at around 0.12 oz. Not too impressed with this, considering the full size is $18 in the US and a whopping $23 here in Canada!

"Miami" is a very bright watermelon pink, definitely a statement lip. I found the formula to emphasize all the dry bits on my lips I didn't even know I had, but of course if you exfoliate your lips beforehand this should solve that problem. It felt tingly on the lips and Buxom claims this as plumping, but I noticed no effect whatsoever. That's fine with me, but if you purchase this hoping it'll make your lips bigger you may be disappointed. One good thing about the super fine tip is that this lipstick applies very precisely, which is important for bold colours like this one. I definitely don't think a liner is necessary for this, the colour is pretty long-wearing and it is very pigmented - so pigmented, in fact, that it stained my lips. Even when the lip stick wore off, the stain was still there, keeping colour on my lips the whole day.

Overall I'd recommend this if you like bold colours but don't like the hassle of having to use lip liner and you do not have a problem with dry, flaky lips. However for anyone else, I really cannot justify the high price tag for so little of a product that didn't really wow me.

Cake Beauty Gloss in "Gold Glimmer" and "Pink Icicle"

2012-01-06T22:20:00.003-05:00

I've always loved Cake Beauty, a Canadian (!!!) brand that is paraben free with delicious smelling products... seriously, with a brand name that has the word "cake" in it, it's right up my alley. I've tried quite a few things from the brand, such as hand creams, shower gels, body lotions and such but never a lip product. So when I saw these adorable glosses at Sephora on sale for $5 (they're on the Cake website for $10), I picked them up immediately.

The top one is in "Gold Glimmer" and the bottom is "Pink Icicle". There is a third one from the collection called "Vanilla Snowflake" but I did not pick this up as opalescent glosses do not really flatter my lips, it's a very pearly gloss that is extremely pale so it didn't appeal to me at all. These were released for the holiday so Cake things are on sale at Sephora, so go there now!

These are in a standard plastic lip gloss tube with a doe-foot, which is 100% fine with me, doe-foot applicators are definitely one of my favourites. There is 11mL/0.4oz of product inside which is quite a surprising amount, I have lip glosses that are bigger in size than these and have less product! Tube glosses have approximately half an ounce so these Cake glosses really give you bang for your buck. Also, the smell of these is divine. It is a very sweet, butterscotch/caramel like smell that I love.

"Gold Glimmer", "Pink Icicle"

"Gold Glimmer" is a brownish-nude gloss that is very similar to my skintone, so it looks clear in the swatches above, on lighter skintones you will see more colour. It has subtle, mostly golden shimmers. "Pink Icicle" is very sheer, but the sparkles are bigger and more noticeable making it a great topper for any lipstain or lipstick. Both these glosses have a very slight stickiness that is hardly noticeable, I am very pleased with how they feel, they make your lips almost "plush" in a way.

Overall, I know that sheer glosses are something that all of us probably have a great number of, but I just can't have enough of them! They are easy to wear and so versatile. Pick these up if the idea of delicious-smelling, sparkly glosses appeals to you!

Victoria's Secret Hypnotic Beauty Luminous Blush/Highlighter in "Desert Sand"

2012-01-05T12:23:00.002-05:00

With the Victoria's Secret Hypnotic Beauty collection released near the tail end of 2010, it was this compact that caught my eye the most. It is touted as a blush and a highlighter in one and as I am a sucker for both, I could not resist. The cherry on top though, was the $10 price tag. Here in Canada this is originally $20 but I recently found this in the sale rack for 50% off, so hurry to your Victoria's Secret store if you've been eyeing this as well.

The powder design is undeniably gorgeous, however the compact itself isn't of the best quality. It is plastic and does not feel as luxe as it looks. The product itself I love - while it is too frosty and light to use as a blush for me, it is the most beautiful, understated pale pink highlighter. The powder is very soft and provides good colour payoff, it is not extremely pigmented but I wouldn't want my highlighters to be very bold anyway.

For 10g/0.35oz of product, this is quite a bit of highlighter that is sure to last a long time. I imagine that once you flatten out the powder more (you can see that the beige shapes stick out), it would be easier to pick up the pink colour and use as a blush. However, I have definitely not had this long enough to get to that point! If you are very pale this could potentially work as a blush right off the bat.

Overall I'd pick this up if you see it for 50% off, but the fact that it cannot be used as a blush for most skintones and that the packaging is plastic, it is not worth the full $20 price tag, as for a few dollars more I could pick up something high-end at Sephora. For $10, though, I have no complaints!

Beginning of "Spangle"

2012-01-05T11:35:00.001-05:00

If you're wondering, the term "Spangle" comes from one of my favourite songs covered by my favourite band:

It's also kind of fitting because it reminds me of sequins and sparkly things, and I intend for this blog to focus on beauty - but maybe there'll be some other tidbits here and there too. So here we go!