NYX Matte Lipsticks, Merlot and Bloody Mary - Swatches and Review

I like to do my lip swatches all at once if possible because I think it's is very helpful to also include a picture of how the lipsticks looks on the face and honestly I really appreciate the bloggers who make that extra effort when posting lip swatches because it gives me a better idea of how it looks on a person. Sometimes just seeing the color isn't enough. With that said, I take a bit more time to make myself look presentable and same goes with makeup looks. So the additional time and effort kinda hinders the makeup looks or face pictures. Looking pretty feels like a job sometimes. Whew!

Last week, I swatched I think 7 lip products in one sitting, which took hours and that's not even including editing. When I have that many lippies lining up for swatches, I always start with the lightest and sheerest color or one I know won't stain and work my way to the darkest and potentially staining lippies. This process ensures better color accuracy in photoshoot. After swatches are out of the way, I try editing them as soon as possible and then I take a few days if not longer to test the products before I do an official review.

Merlot is what I would call a muted berry red. It's not too dark yet not too bright. I would consider this a "friendly" red. The cool undertone makes it easy for any skintone to wear and if you're starting out with red and want something not too over the top, I think this would be a nice one to try. 

Isn't it just funny that when I was swatching this lippie, it was late at night, it was dark and I was starring at a mirror in the dark, and just reading the name of this lipstick kinda creeped me out, lol. I was praying nothing paranormal would show up on the corner of my mirror. They say spirits can be trapped inside mirrors or that it can also be a doorway for them into our world. Well, it sure didn't help that I was also watching a ghost show earlier that night that involved mirrors, so my imagination was spooking me out. Quite honestly, I'm not someone who gets easily scared but I believe in ghosts, spirits, and evil entities. I just hope I never have to face one.

Ok enough with the ghost story, lol there's nothing ghostly about this lippie I promess...Bloody Mary is a gorgeous vibrant red. Also has some cool and berry undertone to it. It's like the brighter and more vibrant sister of Merlot. I really like this. If you want a bolder red, want to make a statement with your lips, then I'd recommend Bloody Mary.

What's nice about the NYX Matte lipsticks is that the formula is pretty much the same across the board. They are some of the creamiest, smoothest, and pigmented matte lipsticks I've come across. What makes them even more to love is that they come with a nice price tag, they don't smell bad (don't smell at all actually), and feel very comfortable on the lips. Most matte lippies tend to be rather dry or drying. This is not the case with these. Seriously, at this point I really want to own them all cause they're really THAT good! And if you haven't already, you should give these a try.

Rating: 9/10

Price: $5-$6
Availability: Ulta, Cherry Culture, and Nyxcosmetics.com

For swatches and review on other NYX matte lipstick shades that I previously posted, please click on the hyperlink:
Tea Rose, Summer Breeze, Sweet Pink, Sierra
Maison, Butter, Indie Flick

What's your favorite red lippie?

Philosophy Lipgloss Peppermint Bark - Swatch and Review

I have a few Philosophy lip glosses that were part of a holiday set and never really touched them but I thought I should try to at least review one of them. I picked out what seems to be the most pigmented one. Do keep in mind that the holiday scented soaps and glosses are only available during the holiday season so you won't be seeing these in store anytime soon but who knows you might run into some of them.


Packaging

• Clear squeeze tube. You're not going to get precise application with this gloss but since it's sheer, I suppose it doesn't matter much. 
• .5 oz or 15 ml, very generous amount of product. 

Product

• The lipglosses smell just like the body wash and if you are familiar with the Philosophy body washes, they smell oh so delicious! Peppermint Bark has a lovely sweet scent similar to that of a chocolate fudge cake. 
• It had a refreshing cooling and minty effect on my lips, not stinging though. 
• This feels rather thick for a gloss and the thickness is similar to MAC Lipglasses. It is also super shiny. One of the shiniest gloss I have. 
• Although this is a pretty sheer lipgloss, Peppermint Bark managed to give my pale lips just a little hint of color and keeps them moisturized for a few hours. 

Final Thought

I wouldn't say this is a gloss you need to have, however, if you don't mind thick sheer shiny glosses that smells delicious and are fairly hydrating, these Philosophy glosses are sure nice to have.

Rating: 9/10
Price: $10.00

Availability: Sephora, Ulta,

L'Oreal Miss Candy Jelly Sandwiches (Pic Heavy Again)

If you missed the swatches of the L'Oreal Miss Candy Collection, you can view it HERE. I decided to do some jelly sandwiches as I was swatching them. That was like killing two birds with one stone. Jelly sandwiches is for me the whole point of purchasing the collection. I love the versatility of them and how you can pair them with any glitters of your choice.

Here I have 3 coats of Mango Mama, 1 coat of Kleancolor Aurora, and another coat of Mango Mama. Love this combo.

3 coats of Bananarama Love, 1 coat of Color Club Very Merry Berry, 1 coat of Bananrama love. This is such a fun combo!

3 coats of Berry Nice, 1 coat of Color Club Backstage Pass, and 1 coat of Berry Nice. The clear base on Backstage Pass was thick and goopy, which kinda made the mani look uneven.

3 coats of Creme de Mint, 1 coat of Color Club Sugar Plum Yum, 1 coat of Creme de Mint.
Creme the mint is killing the glory of the glitters here. It may be difficult to find a good pair for a Creme de Mint jelly sandwich.

3 coats of Lilac Coolers, 1 coat of OPI Polka.com, 1 coat of Lilac Coolers. I kinda like this combo.

2 coats of Jolly Lolly, 1 coat of Orly Sashy My Way, 1 coat of Jolly Lolly. I like this combo as well.

And my favorite of all!

3 coats of Miss Pixie, 1 coat of Icing Frost Yourself, 1 coat of Miss Pixie, and 1 coat of Finger Paint Motley.

Honestly, the picture doesn't do justice to this manicure. It is 10 times prettier in real life.

So what do you think of these jelly sandwiches?

L'Oreal Miss Candy Nail Polish Swatches (Picture Heavy)

Typically, I don't usually purchase a collection unless there's something about it that I like. In this case the Miss Candy collection polishes features jelly finishes and since I don't have that many jellies, I just had to grab them all...Well almost, I didn't get the light pink one and now I'm wondering if I should go back for it, lol. Anyways, I had initially purchased Miss Pixie at CVS and after I swatched it, liked it, I went back for the others at Walgreens. 

Mango Mama is a bright jelly orange. Has a fairly good pigmentation, applied smoothly, and was easy to work with. 3 coats.

Bananarama Love is a medium slightly pale yellow. This one was a little sheer but looked pretty good by the 3rd coat. You can still see the visible nail line but that's part of being a jelly. The formula was also nice and easy to work with.

Berry Nice is a sheer deep blue purple. Out of all the polishes in this collection, this one was a bit more difficult to work it. First, my brush was jacked up. It had a split in the middle, which really made application worst. My main problem was trying to spread the polish and color evenly. I think I did ok but I can still see that the color is patchy and some areas are darker than others. It is also quite sheer for a dark polish. I did 3 coats on the swatches.

Creme de Mint is a dusty medium green. This one had good pigmentation and was also easy to work with. I did 3 coats.

Lillac Coolers is lovely lilac shade, a bit sheer, but I was able to build up a fairly decent coverage with 3 coats. Formula was also easy to work with.

Jolly Lolly is a bright pinkish red with a good pigmentation and easy formula. I only did 2 coats on the swatches and it looks pretty good. I think you could get this to be opaque on the third coat.

Miss Pixie is a gorgeous cobalt blue jelly. There's a slight patchiness in some areas but it's not that noticeable and the formula wasn't too much trouble. I did 3 coats.

Overall, the best pigmentation and ease of formula goes to Mango Mama, Creme de Mint, and Jolly Lolly.
Bananrama Love, Lilac Coolers, and Miss Pixie were slightly more sheer but still had good formula.
Lastly, Berry Nice was difficult to get an even color coverage.
The formula on these were not too thick or too thin, just perfect and they spread quite easily on the nail without pooling. The dry time was also fairly decent.

This calls for some jelly sandwiches, which I will post in a minute so stay tuned!