Review: Hard Candy Lash Call Lengthening Mascara

About a month ago I was looking for a blue mascara for something going on at work. I don't wear colored mascara on a daily basis (or ever) so I needed to pick one up from Walmart on my way home from work.

I ended up going with this Hard Candy Lash Call Lengthening mascara in Peacock

It was only $5.00 or $6.00 and the only brand I could find at the time with colored mascara.

I wasn't concerned about how lengthening or volumizing it was going to be for my lashes, I just wanted bright blue eyelashes!

The wand if kind of weird compared to regular mascara. It's really long, skinny, straight, and the bristles are tiny! It was weird to use and felt awkward trying to coat all my lashes.

The color is really pretty and I was so happy it swatched as bright as the bottle.

Unfortunately the formula was really runny which I had never experienced with a mascara before. I tried it on the night before I was going to wear it and you couldn't even tell my lashes were blue! They still looked black. Even though the color swatched so brightly on my skin, it was thin that I couldn't get enough to actually show up. I decided to wear it anyways the next day and put on like 4 coats so my lashes had a hint of blue. The mascara was so uncomfortable on my lashes. It dried really hard and crunchy.

The worst part about the mascara though?

Half way through the day I went in the bathroom to check my mascara and the ends of my lashes were curling the wrong direction!!!

How does that even happen!?

I wish I had gotten a picture to show you guys because it was the weirdest thing I had ever seen. The ends of my top lashes weren't curling up towards my eyebrows they were curling over backwards if that makes sense...

Let me illustrate

It was disturbing. I have never worn this mascara again and now that I have done this post I am going to go throw it away. I realize not everyone buys colored mascara but Hard Candy also makes this in black and brown. I would hate for someone to get sucked in by cute packaging to land themselves with a crappy mascara (Just described me, completely.)

The formula, the wand, and the crazy eyelash side effects make this mascara a huge THUMBS DOWN!

xoxo

Review: Equate Micro Dermabrasion Exfoliating Cleansing Towelettes

Hi ladies,

Earlier this year I decided to try a new kind of makeup remover wipes. I picked up the Equate Micro Dermabrasion Exfoliating Cleansing Towelettes.

The ingredients if you're interested. (Not that I know what they mean lol)

Here is what the product looks like.

I like the tub the wipes came in. It's actually really good quality and the colors are pretty.

The wipe itself has a textured side and a smooth side.

I used these for about two months.

During those two months my skin got so irritated, dry, and flaky.

It took me about a month to figure out it was the wipes irritating my skin. As soon as I stopped using the wipes my skin got better and all the dryness went away. I don't know if it's the alcohol in the wipes that make them so harsh but I have never had that problem with any other face wipes. I have even used other Equate wipes that didn't bother my skin like these did.

I was drawn in to try the product because I thought it would be great if I could exfoliate, remove makeup, and cleanse my skin all in one step.

Shame on me for being lazy. My poor skin paid for it.

I don't recommend using these wipes.

I haven't thrown the wipes away because I use them on my arm/hand when I am swatching makeup. I plan on using them all up and keeping the tub so I can just buy the refill packs of future makeup wipes and save a dollar or two instead of always buying the pack in the tub.

In summary, Don't buy these makeup wipes!

xoxo

Review: e.l.f. Flawless Finish Foundation in Porcelain ($6.00)

Oh boy did e.l.f. cause a stir when they released this foundation. I feel like everyone was talking about the chic glass bottle, pump, and matte black lid and the name reminding them of HD foundations. I too was excited for the foundation. I have been using this foundation on and off since the middle of December and I'm finally ready to give my thoughts on the product!

First up, the packaging....

Although unnecessary, I love the thick frosted glass. I like pretty packaging, what can I say!? The pump however, is completely necessary. I have a really hard time with foundations that don't have a pump and I don't understand why ever foundation doesn't come with one. I have seen other reviews that people have had issues with their pump sticking or not dispensing product properly but I have not experienced this at all.

Consistency...

Super creamy! I love the consistency of this foundation. But before you get a chance to obsess over the texture you will notice the smell...

Oh e.l.f. why do you do this to yourselves and us

It has the overwhelming strong scent of soap and/or febreeze. Luckily the smell fades quickly but it makes me wonder why they thought this was necessary. Like, what would this smell without their stinky soap...? Something to wonder about I guess. I don't have a hard time dealing with the smell because it goes away but I know that right there will be a deal breaker for some.

Coverage...

I have a hard time capturing foundation once it has been blended so I enlisted the help of a pen in my purse.

The foundation is only about half way blended here

And then blended out completely

Now obviously there isn't anything so contrasting on your face like bright blue ink but I'd say this is medium to full coverage, at least for the blemishes I'm concealing it does the job. Please also notice how dewy the finish of this foundation is. I always find it funny when I'm doing my makeup that I put this on and then completely matify it with my powder foundation and then highlight my face to bring back the dewy look...seems silly. Even though it's not completely full coverage, I find if I use too much product I don't get any more coverage just a rather heavy feeling to my skin all day. If you can't stand to feel like you're wearing makeup then this is not for you.

Then I put a little over the veins on the inside of my wrist just to show the coverage a bit more.

As you can see in the picture to the right, the foundation is a little cakey. I did not moisturize my skin before swatching the foundation and this can cake up if you haven't moisturized.

I can't speak for the other shades of this foundation but I got the lightest of the 6 shades they offer and this is super yellow....

Please see below

Bare skin on Left and foundation on Right

It turns out the best to find out how well a product is working for you is to take pictures for a review. Before I started swatching and taking pictures and really thinking a lot about how this product is working for me I actually really liked it. I was reaching for this foundation almost every single day. I love the creamy consistency and I was able to get decent coverage very quickly (which is a must for me because I am always running late for work!) with just a small amount of product. I think the reason I didn't realize how yellow this foundation is would be because I layered concealer, powder foundation, blush and bronzer on top... but I'm wondering if it's not a very good match for my face. I do have really red skin though... maybe that's why I was so drawn to this foundation every morning because it neutralizes the red in my skin! Ah hah! I'm not completely crazy!

Overall: I really felt like going into this review I would be raving... but I didn't have a whole lot of great things to say about this foundation. I think this is one of those things where it is going to be great for 1 person and horrible for the next. There are so many variables from person and shade to the next that it's hard to know if it will be grail or fail.

I think...

it's a bit on the heavy side,

potential to get cakey although it doesn't always,

medium coverage, 

temporary stinky soap smell, 

small shade selection,

blends easily,

beautiful dewy finish.

I do plan on finishing this bottle because I'm able to work out the cons with other products but I don't think I will be re-purchasing. Especially since summer is coming up and this foundation would be way too heavy in the warm summer temperatures. I've got two words for you: oil slick!

Hope you enjoyed. Please let me know in the comments what your thoughts are on this product. I'd love to hear your opinions!

xoxo

Review: CoverGirl Lip Perfection Lipstick in 380 Dazzle

Oh the power of a coupon. I had no intention of purchasing any of the new Lip Perfection products from CoverGirl until I got a coupon from my sister for $2.00 OFF (1). When I took a gander past the section in Walmart they were only $5.50 and suddenly, I had to have one.... funny how that works.

 

I will admit I love their sleek packaging....

The colors on the bottom are really cute and surprisingly accurate, at least for the shade I picked up.

CoverGirl Lip Perfection Lipstick in 380 Dazzle

See what I mean...

This is a sheer fuchsia shade with the tiniest flash of bluish/purple undertones.

On the skin

On the lips

From Left to Right: Lip Balm, One coat, Three coats

I will admit these pictures are slightly washed out but not by much. This is really sheer. I kind of like it though because it makes me willing to try "more daring" shades, like fuchsia! The formula is so smooth and feels like a moisturizing lip balm, not like a lip stick at all. I did notice even after the lipstick wore off I still had a pink stain on my lips which I didn't mind because I am a total lip gloss/stick eater and my lip products don't last long so it was nice to still have color on my lips.

For a little extra punch of color I layered a similarly colored gloss over top...

I used my Maybelline Color Sensational gloss in Hooked on Pink

which I got in my CVS clearance haul and completely forgot to show you! Ooops It has really good color payoff considering it's a gloss. I was pleasantly surprised. It has a slight gold shimmer to it that isn't coming through in the above picture, but it's there!

Overall, I don't think this product (well this shade at the very least) is for everyone because it is so sheer. Sometimes I want the more understated color on my lips which makes this great for me. The price is reasonable. Packaging adorable. My favorite thing might just be how moisturizing it is though.

You tell me, have you tried these products yet? What is your impression? What about the glosses? Are they worth checking out? Let me know below!

xoxo