Tag: makeup

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette Review

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Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette

“I learned early on how different types of light can truly flatter the complexion. Growing up, my mother had pink light bulbs in all of the lamps throughout the house. She loved pink light because it was the softest and most flattering, and she always wanted to look good. I used this concept of lighting in Ambient Lighting Powder.”

—Carisa Janes, Hourglass Founder

Iiiiiiiiits baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

I was beside myself when I missed out on the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette last fall. I had had my eye on the ambient lighting powders in general, but when I heard they were putting out a palette of three shades–two regular releases and one special, new release–I was thrilled. I figured it would be a nice, compact way to have a selection of these powders in my kit.

However, I waited just a tad too long to try and get my hands on one. This palette was insanely popular and by the time I was ready to purchase it, it was sold out everywhere–and I do mean everywhere. I had really wanted to try that exclusive shade, and somehow the thought of buying all of them separately just wasn’t as appealing for me. Storage space is at a premium in my collection right now and I just didn’t want to deal with all those full-sized compacts. Instead, I held out and hoped it would come back in stock. I was even one of those crazily distraught people who emailed Hourglass, begging them to bring it back again.

Thankfully, they heard our pleas and the palette was re-released just this month! You know I had mine ordered the second I saw it up for sale.

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Too Faced Natural Eye Palette Review – In Depth

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Too Faced Natural Eye Palette

“Flaunt your natural side with a look that appears so effortless you can wear it before breakfast or after dark. Natural Eyes is a palette of nine richly-pigmented shadows that pair perfectly and blend beautifully!”

I was super excited when I found out that the Too Faced Natural Eye Palette would be included in our April POPSUGAR Must Have box!

Now yes, yes; I know I need more neutral eye shadows like I need a hole in my head. I am fully aware that I currently have a sick amount of browns and taupes and similar colors in my collection, between the MAC palettes I have created and the pre-made neutral palettes I have purchased (like my beloved Urban Decay Naked palettes) but… What can I say? I just love eyeshadow and I love neutrals even more! They are the colors I find myself reaching for most frequently, so they kind of fall under that “you can never have too many” mentality. As much as I love to rock a bright green eye, that’s not always appropriate for the office–yet neutrals are always in style.

I was even more excited when I realized that the Natural Eye Palette we were receiving was the new, updated version that included three new shadows not featured in the previous incarnation. (Not that I own the previous version, so I can’t compare, really… I just like knowing we got the shiny, new version I guess.)

I briefly described the palette in my original POPSUGAR review, but promised a more in-depth look at it once I had the time to play around with it. I’ve been wearing it all week, so let’s take a more in-depth look at what this palette has to offer…

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Cargo Suited To A Tea Eye Shadow Palette Review

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Cargo Cosmetics Suited to a Tea Cream Shadow Palette

“Set in a beautiful spring inspired watercolor illustration, the “Suited to a Tea” palette features 12 cream based eye shadows with this season’s must have colors.”

I’ve never been all too familiar with Cargo Cosmetics. I know they were carried in Sephora for a few years, and I probably swatched some of their products here and there, but aside from a lone nude lip liner floating around in my collection, I never really delved into their selection.

When I saw their new spring line in Kohl’s a week or so ago, I was drawn in by the cute packaging and “tea” theme to the collection. I’m a sucker for all things having to do with tea (as well as coffee, if truth be told), and I had to take a peak inside the adorable package that held their Suited To A Tea Eye Shadow Palette. I mean, just look at it; all pink and dotted with teacups and makeup?! Of course it helped that I immediately fell in love with the spring-y, pastel selection of colors inside this palette too–there were not only a good range of shimmery  neutrals but also some lovely purples and blues and even a smoky gray-green (oh my!). The inside of this palette had a look reminiscent of a watercolor palette and that just went straight to the heart of me.

I couldn’t help myself. I had some Kohl’s cash and have been longing for some fun, colorful shadows I could still see myself wearing to work, so I figured I would give it a shot…

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OCC Lip Tar Primary Pack Review

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OCC Lip Tar Primary Pack Minis Yaaaaaaaay!

I’ve been waiting for a set like this to come out! This little darling is a new release, the OCC Lip Tar Primary Pack. It is a set of five min-sized matte Lip Tars, all in “primary” shades. (The pack also includes their full-sized precision lip brush–which I’m collecting in droves, with all my Lip tar love–and a portable five-sleeve plastic pack especially sized for the minis, which is nice for storage and/or travel.

Let me digress for a moment, with my standard quick explanation of Lip Tars, which you may choose to skip if you’ve heard my spiel before: OCC stands for Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics and Lip Tars are quite possibly the product that they are best known for. They are liquid lipsticks that apply like a gloss, going on slick and moist, but drying down to a satin or matte lipstick-like finish. They come in dozens of colors, and can be mixed to create custom shades.

They are vegan, free of cruelty, and gluten-free. One thing to note is that they do contain peppermint oil for preservative  purposes, so if you are sensitive to that oil or its scent, keep that in mind. Being Queen of Sensitive Skin over here, I can say that for me they did not cause any sort of reaction, other than being a bit drying. Okay; enough of that.

On to this neat little set. As soon as I saw this come to Sephora, I snatched it up…

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OCC Lip Tar Trio Set – Metallics Review

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OCC Lip Tar Trio Metallic Set

More Lip Tars, Robin?

Yes; more Lip Tars!!! (Can you sense my excitement? Should I add more exclamation points to make it clearer?)

Standard recap applies, so let me repeat what OCC Lip Tars are quickly. (Again, for those who know, or read one of my previous posts, you can skip this bit and head on to the review of this set after the jump.) OCC stands for Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics and Lip Tars are quite possibly the product that they are best known for. They are liquid lipsticks that apply like a gloss, going on slick and moist, but drying down to a satin or matte lipstick-like finish. They come in dozens of colors, and can be mixed to create custom shades. They are vegan, free of cruelty, and gluten-free. One thing to note is that they do contain peppermint oil for preservative purposes, so if you are sensitive to that oil or its scent, keep that in mind. Being Queen of Sensitive Skin over here, I can say that for me they did not cause any sort of reaction, other than being a bit drying.

Alright; let’s get on to the review!

Continue reading “OCC Lip Tar Trio Set – Metallics Review” →

NYX Butter Gloss Review

Published on by robinlcole7 Comments

NYX-Butter-GlossHello, my name is Robin and I am a NYX Butter Gloss addict.

I always favored gloss over lipstick, as I have had chronically dry lips as far I can remember, but one thing that had always driven me nuts is how sticky most glosses are. I had long hair for most of my life and we all know how well that pairs with most lip glosses; I was constantly pulling it away from my lips and getting frustrated with the gooey feeling on my lips. Ick.

Enter my holy grail lip gloss: NYX Cosmetics’ Butter Glosses.

NYX says: “Buttery soft and silky smooth, our scrumptious new Butter Lip Gloss tastes as sweet as a sugar cookie—and makes your lips look downright luscious. Swipe it on alone or over your favorite lipstick for creamy sheer to medium coverage that melts onto your lips and is never sticky.”

Oh, NYX, you had me at silky smooth…

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OCC Pro Picks Lip Tar Set v3.0 Review

Published on by robinlcole5 Comments

OCC Lip Tar Pro Picks 3.0

Here comes another review of OCC Cosmetics’ Lip Tars!

To quickly recap what OCC Lip Tars are (for those who know, or read one of my previous posts, you can skip this bit and head on to the review of this set after the jump). OCC stands for Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics and Lip Tars are quite possibly the product that they are best known for. They are liquid lipsticks that apply like a gloss, going on slick and moist, but drying down to a satin or matte lipstick-like finish. They come in dozens of colors, and can be mixed to create custom shades. They are vegan, free of cruelty, and gluten-free. One thing to note is that they do contain peppermint oil for preservative purposes, so if you are sensitive to that oil or its scent, keep that in mind. Being Queen of Sensitive Skin over here, I can say that for me they did not cause any sort of reaction, other than being a bit drying.

That said, let’s get on to the review!

Continue reading “OCC Pro Picks Lip Tar Set v3.0 Review” →

LORAC Unzipped Palette Review

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Lorac-Unzipped-Closed

LORAC is another one of those brands that I had heard of long before I tried it out for myself. It was another brand that I casually stalked across the internet, admiring it from afar but never finding my path crossing with it directly. Two of the palettes that I had long had on my mental wishlist were the LORAC PRO Palette and the LORAC Unzipped Palette (even despite the second being very similar to the Urban Decay Naked 3, which I will discuss later in this review).

It wasn’t until I stumbled across them being sold at Kohl’s last month (with some Kohls Cash burning a hole in my pocket!) that I finally got the chance to try them out for myself. I’m glad I did, because this brand really has lived up to all the great things I have heard about it!

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NYX Butter Lipstick Review – Pops, Candy Buttons, and Fireball

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NYX-Butter-Lipstick

Man, did I have a hard time getting my hands on these Butter Lipsticks from NYX Cosmetics! I couldn’t find any of the colors that appealed to me in any of my local stores. Each time I looked for them, I was greeted by displays that were picked over and, usually, down to testers. So I finally bit the bullet and placed an order online. I learned, sadly, that NYX shipping isn’t the fastest, which was only made worse by the two big snowstorms that hit NJ, delaying their delivery for days and days.

::sigh:: So, these aren’t exactly the hot new thing anymore, but I was still very excited to get them when they arrived this past weekend. I absolutely adore NYX’s Butter Glosses (to the point of a slight obsession, which will be displayed in an upcoming post), so when they expanded their “butter” lip line to include a lipstick, I just had to get my hands on some of them.

NYX promises: “The unique texture seems to melt onto the lips, giving full, yet lightweight coverage with a luxurious satin finish.”

Yes, please!

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OCC Pro Picks Lip Tar Set v1.0 Review

Published on by robinlcole3 Comments
OCC-Lip-Tar-Pro-Picks-1
From right to left: Ophelia, Melange, Grandma, Stalker, and Vintage.

Ready for some more OCC Lip Tars???

My last review of the OCC Lip Tar Trio Set in Neutral started me off on this obsession, which has grown quickly. In the past few months I’ve amassed a nice little selection of colors. I use the excuse of these being incredibly useful in my professional work (both on clients and for blogging purposes), but the truth is, I just find them so damn fun!

A quick recap on what OCC Lip Tars are (for those who know, or read my previous post, you can skip this bit and head on to the review of this set after the jump). OCC stands for Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics and Lip Tars are quite possibly the product that they are best known for. They are liquid lipsticks that apply like a gloss, going on slick and moist, but drying down to a satin or matte lipstick-like finish. They come in dozens of colors, and can be mixed to create custom shades. They are vegan, free of cruelty, and gluten-free. One thing to note is that they do contain peppermint oil for preservative purposes, so if you are sensitive to that oil or its scent, keep that in mind. Being Queen of Sensitive Skin over here, I can say that for me they did not cause any sort of reaction, other than being a bit drying.

Okay; on to the review!

Continue reading “OCC Pro Picks Lip Tar Set v1.0 Review” →