Thursday, January 31, 2013

Sugarpill Cosmetics Burning Heart Palette - Review, Photos, Swatches

Exhibit #273 that I'm losing my mind: as I was taking photos of today's product last week I started feeling an overwhelming sense of deja vu that I had photographed this palette already, and immediately began berating myself for my absent-mindedness. Well, it turns out I never actually did post this before (for shame!) so who knows what my brain was trying to tell me!. Anyway, today I am showing you the lovely, spectacular, stupendous, astonishing, wondrous (and many other positive adjectives) Sugarpill Burning Heart palette!








All swatches are over Too Faced Shadow Insurance. Look at how gloriously saturated and vibrant the colors are after just one pass of the brush!  The shades are beautiful and the texture of the shadows is soft with minimal fallout (much less than you would expect from such matte, bright hues). With primer they last all day while remaining fresh-looking. I've worn these in looks for a couple of my dance performances, and not only did the eyeshadows stand out under the bright lights, they withstood some serious sweat-age ;) 

The packaging is cute and sturdy, with a magnetic closure and a mirror on the top-side of the flap. The shadow pans are HUGE, so it's safe to say you are getting a mega-value for the price ($34). I highly, highly recommend this palette and can't say enough good things about Sugarpill and her products :) This palette and others are available from the Sugarpill Cosmetics online shop. Also, keep an eye out for the occasional sales!

What do you think? Do you love it or is it too much for you?

Friday, January 25, 2013

L'Oreal's Colour Riche Caress Stick Lipstick in Pink Vinyl, Blushing Sequin - Photos, Review, Swatches

Busybusybusy! D: I will try to get a few good, substantial posts in before my vacation, though!


Today I have for you two of the newish L'Oreal Colour Riche Caress Stick lipsticks. They come housed in pretty but fingerprint-prone gold packaging and, as far as I could tell, are available in 16 hues. I purchased two shades similar to what I like and tend to wear: Blushing Sequin, a warm bright rosy pink with a tinge of red; and Pink Vinyl, a cool pink with a touch of lavender. 

Blushing Sequin:

Pink Vinyl:

L to R: Blushing Sequin, Pink Vinyl
Alright. So, the shades are fairly lovely - sheer, easy to pull off, and providing a subtle wash of color. Unfortunately, the formula on this lipstick was terribly uncomfortable to wear. Immediately I felt stinging. (An allergy, perhaps?) It was mild, but still not something I want to put my lips through when I have other options. I found these drying and the texture to be slippery, very nearly slimy. Pink Vinyl disappeared within 1 to 1.5 hours of application.

Needless to say, I do not recommend L'Oreal's Colour Riche Caress Stick lipsticks despite wanting desperately to like them. I love sheer, balmy lipstick hybrids with a punch of color, and that's what I hoped these would be, but there are better options available. If you want to try out these lipsticks, they are available for about $9.99 each at drugstores.