Collective (Drugstore) Haul & Swatches - Things I've Hauled While I Was Away

So while I was away, I did buy makeup here and there. I was intrigued by the LA Splash liquid lipsticks so I picked up a few shades. There was many other shades that appealed to me but decided to just pick these colors to see how I liked them. I love and hate these, lol. Will tell you more on my review.

MAC Instigator Swatch and Review

Looking for a nice vampy fall shade? May I suggest Instigator? Wait what? I can't believe it's September already!

Packaging

• It's your standard bullet case with a nice weight to it.
• .1 oz or 3 g

Product

• Anyways, I was saying Instigator is described as a deep blackened plum. I would say that's pretty spot on. 
• This shade is opaque, creamy, and have that nice vanilla scent. It's supposedly a matte finish but I find it to look a little more like a satin at first. 
• The formula has very good pigmentation and applies smoothly and fairly evenly. Didn't feel drying or moisturizing. 
• I didn't do a wear test but judging from the opacity and formula, I'm sure you can easily wear this shade for at least 4 hours. 

Final Thought

Overall, I really dig it. Love this color. The formula is good too.

Watchu think? Would you wear this color?

Rating: 9.5/10

Price: $17
Availability: MAC, Macy's, Nordstrom

Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick Feel The Love - Swatch and Review

Packaging

• Rose gold metallic case. I find the packaging neat, simple, with a high end touch to it. The cover slides all the way down to the base. 

Product

• Feel the Love is a medium rosy brown nude with a shiny cream finish.
• The formula feels a bit thick but it's very creamy, pigmented, and applies smoothly and flawlessly. 
• It's very hydrating and the color last for up to 5 hours before I notice signs of fading.
• It has a delicious cup cake scent. 

Final Thought

I'm not sure if this is a limited edition shade but I found it at the Bare Minerals outlet store. I wished the formula was a bit lighter but otherwise, it is an outstanding formula. The fact that it is thicker also helps with keeping the lips hydrated for hours and prolong the wear of the color. 

Rating: 9.5/10

Collective Haul and Swatches (Pic Heavy)

WHHHHEWIE! I'm sowie for being away but while I was away from me blog I was also busy shopping. It's been crazy in my world and needed some serious retail therapy. So here's what I've collected from the past few days.

These new NYX Prismatic eyeshadows are now available at Ulta for $6 a pot. So far, my first impression is wow, these are so pigmented and swatch beautifully! They feel so creamy! Need...to...get...more! It's currently on BOGO sale at Ulta right now.

NYX High Voltage Lipsticks Swatches and Review - Wine & Dine, Flutter Kiss, Twisted, Dirty Talk, Feline, Playdate

Hello there,

I hope you are excited to see this post. I know I was super duper excited when I saw the launch of this new lipstick. There are 22 shades available but since I can't justify getting them all I took advantage of Ulta's BOGO sale to grab at least the ones that peaked my interest.


Packaging

• As you can see, the tube is long and slim with a clear cap which allows you to see the color inside.
• .09 oz or 2.5 g

Product

• Please read below for the description of each shade.
• The formula is pretty much the same across the board. It's nice and creamy, not too slippery. It's quite pigmented but you still need a couple swipe in order to build up the intensity and even out the coverage. They all have a cream finish with a nice shine to them so your lips look plump and juicy.
• They did a good job at evening out dry areas on my lips without accentuating them. 
• They feel very comfortable and are somewhat hydrating for the first couple hours.
• They last up to 5 hours before showing signs of fading. The darker shades will leave behind a long-wearing stain as well. 
• They have a subtle sweet marshmallowish scent to them. I didn't find it offensive and it fades fairly quickly.

Final Thought

I believe most people will like this new lipstick line and I think NYX did a pretty good job with the formula. It is long-wearing, creamy, pigmented, and comfortable. The packaging is pretty plain and basic, nothing to rave there. There is a good variety of shades and you will surely find at least one or two shades that will appeal to you. My favorite here are Wine & Dine and Feline.

Rating: 9/10

Price: $6.00
Availability: Ulta, NYX Cosmetics

Wine & Dine - medium dark berry red. This one is gorgeous! If you find red lipstick intimidating, try this one! I think this one will look fabulous on every skin tone.

Flutter Kiss - this is a lovely medium rosy nude. I would call it the perfect nude because it doesn't make you look pale or tired.

Twisted - medium purple with more blue undertone. I hate how it leaves a really bright pink stain behind but other than that, it's a really fun color. Might not be everyone's cup of tea but if you like wild colors, you'll like this one.

Dirty Talk - medium dark warm brown. When I swatched it on my hand I was like ehhh I dunno if I can rock this shade but when I tried it on my lips, I think I can pull it off. 

Feline - medium dark reddish brown. Can look classy or vampy, depending on how you wear the makeup. 

Playdate - medium purple lavender. I like it but don't love it. It's not a color I'd wear often. It needs to be paired with the right makeup look in order for it to look really good, in my opinion.

Femme Couture Prime Wear Long-Wearing Lip Creme Spice Up - Swatch and Review

Hello yall,

It's one of those product I purchased on a whim after seeing the sale tag. I'm not even sure if this is being discontinued.

Packaging

• Nothing special about the packaging. It's plastic and does look a bit cheap. You can view the color in the tube at the center of the tube. I didn't realize my lipstick was damaged until I removed the plastic wrap and the cap. 
• .13 oz or 3.8 g

Product

• Spice Up is a medium warm brown with some red undertone and subtle gold shimmers. It's a really lovely color and looks quite flattering on my skin tone.
• The texture is creamy and pigmented. I didn't find the formula hydrating or drying. It will cling to dry skin so make sure you exfoliate and moisturize your lips before application. 
• I got 4 hours of wear before noticing fading
• It has a subtle vanilla scent.

Final Thought

The formula wasn't too bad. It had good pigmentation. It was creamy enough that it applied nicely without pulling or tugging. Unfortunately, it was lacking the hydrating element, which would have been nice. I'm glad that it had a nice pleasant vanilla scent. I wouldn't call this formula long-lasting. The longevity is average, in my opinion.

Rating: 8/10

Price: $7.99
Availability: Sally Beauty Supply

February Haul and Swatches - Sephora, NYX, Sally Beauty, H&M, I Love Nail Polish

Happy week end!

It's been so dang cold here, it's depressing. Anyways, while I was away from my blog I accumulated a few new goodies and finally found the time to show them to you. So here they are the new products I picked up this month!

Sephora

• Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof liquid eyeliner Siren ($10). There are 8 shades to choose from that are almost at 50% off. Siren is no doubt one of the most beautiful dark teal shimmer liquid liner I have ever seen. 
• Sephora Collection Colorful Duo Reflects eyeshadow ($13 each)- Mermaid Tail, Stormy Seas, Siren's Charm
• Sephora Teint Infusion Cream ($24)
• Sephora Crayon Jumbo Liner 12 hr Wear dark taupe shimmer ($14)
• Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Primary Pack Lip Tars ($29)
• First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Deep Cleanser (100 points)

These are new and limited edition eyeshadows from Sephora. The texture is rather gritty and dry. I had to swatch them over a glitter primer in order for them to show. There's a lot of shimmer and sparkling multi-colored micro glitters in them. Super pretty I think but you really need that glitter primer to make it work. I really wish the texture was better and not as dry. The fish scale design is cute and fits the mermaid theme. I was only gonna get Mermaid Tale at first, which is by the way the only one that's actually duochrome, but after I saw how sparkly and pretty the other two are, I decided to pick them up as well.

Dark Taupe Shimmer is lovely, creamy, and pigmented. I love these Sephora Jumbo liners. I like them much better then the pencils.

When I saw this new Sephora foundation I just can't help myself but wanting to try it. Honestly, I haven't had much luck with the drugstore take of these new liquidy foundation. I'll get back to you with a review once I have a good feel for it. So far all I can tell you is that it wasn't as liquidy as I thought, it doesn't feel drying, and it's pretty light-weight but with a buildable light to medium coverage. I picked the shade cream (20) and I think it suits my skintone.

They had this set during the holiday but I totally missed out on it so when it became available again, I ordered it right away. I'm really happy that it came with a long handle lip brush. All the other lip tars I got, came with the short version. This is just what I need to customize my lip colors. I'm ecstatic!

I redeemed my Sephora points for this "deep cleanser". I haven't tried it yet but I am sure curious to find out how good it would cleanse the skin.


Nordstrom Rack

• Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof liquid eyeliner ($9.97 each) - Retrograde, Sabbath. No photos here but I promise you I will do a review with swatches. So far I have acquired 4 of these UD liquid liners due to the sale prices.

Ulta

• NYX Intense Butter Gloss ($5.99 each)- Toasted Marshmallow, Chocolate Crepe
• NYX Tame & Frame Tinted Brow Pomade Brunette ($6.99)
• NYX High Voltage Lipsticks ($5.99) - Wine & Dine, Flutter Kiss, Twisted, Dirty Talk, Feline, Playdate. 

So I'm not much of a gloss person but I was intrigued by these new Intense Butter gloss from NYX so I set out to get the two shades that I was most interested in. Toasted Marshmallow is a medium plum with a slight brown undertone. Chocolate Crepe is a medium nude with a red undertone. These look amazing on! Stay tune for my review. 

I definitely didn't need this but heck I just had to try this out so I can compare it with the Anastasia brow pomade. I will do a review and comparison for you, hopefully soon.

Of course, I couldn't help myself but had to try out these new High Voltage lipsticks. These 6 shades are the ones that appealed the most to me. My first impression is I think a lot of people will like these. Additional swatches and review will be coming soon.

Sally Beauty Supply

• Femme Couture Prime Wear Spice Up ($.99)
• Beautique Lip Crayon ($1.99) - Blackberry, Raspberry, Copper
• Beautique Gel Eye Pencils ($2.79) - Navy, Pewter, Rose Gold
• Yellow Flowers Nail Art ($1.59)

I'm so bummed that this lippie was kinda messed up. I wasn't aware of that until I unwrapped the clear plastic around it and removed the cap. Aside from that, I was pleasantly surprised with the nice creamy formula and pigmentation. Spice up is a medium warm brick red. Personally, I like the color.

So I took a chance and gave these Beautique lip crayons a try and wow and I am loving them! I do not hear anyone talk about these but they are some pretty damn good affordable lip liners! If you are on the look out for inexpensive but good lip liners, go to Sally Beauty and grab a few of these.

I grabbed these eye liners from the Clearance section and thought they looked pretty. I was worried that they might turn out bad but for the price, I was willing to take my chances. I'll definitely do a more in depth review but so far so good.

Probably wouldn't have paid full price for these nail art flowers but seeing them on sale made me want to try them.


H & M

• H & M Blushers Pinks ($5.95)
• H & M Bronzing Powder ($5.95)
• H & M Nail Polish Confetti Rain (

Ok guys, I'm mot gonna lie, I got totally sucked in by the packaging but man I'm rather disappointed at the formula. It was dry and sheer. Oh well, at least they make cute decoration pieces on my vanity.

Confetti Rain is cute a cutesy little bottle. I forgot how much it was and I threw out the packaging. Will swatch this one as soon as I get a chance.


I Love Nail Polish

• Ultra Chrome Flakies ($12.50 each) - Electric Carnival, Supernova

Say hello to my new besties...they look amazing! Stay tune for the swatches. My nails are finally long enough to do swatches, smh.

So what do you think? Which one of these products do you look forward to the review or look forward to try?