Product Fail - Wet n Wild Mega Eyes Defining Marker in Dark Brown

I had the urge to play around with liquid liner recently, and since I had a Wet n Wild coupon at CVS, I ended up grabbing theri Mega Eyes Defining Marker in Dark Brown (870). With the coupon, I figured it was worth a shot.

 It had a felt tip, which is what I was wanting. Felt tips seem like they would be better for liquid liner novices like myself.  I excitedly put a swatch on the back of my hand, and imagine my dismay when this is what I saw:

The swatch looked like a red with a little bit of brown. Who in their right mind would call this a dark brown??? I haven't even bothered to try and use it on my eyes because the color just doesn't seem workable. Aside from the fact that the color itself is terrible, I'm not impressed with the formula either. It is streaky when applied, and if I try and build up the color, it continues to streak more. 

Has anyone else tried these Mega Eyes Defining Markers? Did I just get a really old dud or are they all this bad?

Cyber Monday Deals! Wow!!!

My credit card is officially whimpering. There's some amazing Cyber Monday sales going on!

The two that I just indulged in:

The Body Shop has everything 50% off (except for a few holiday sets from what I saw). You get free shipping for order over $30, and you can get a tote bag of goodies valued at $100 for $30 with a $30 purchase. If you join their rewards program, which costs $10 for a year, you get 10% off this order and every order throughout the year (along with other perks). Don't forget to use Ebates, which currently has 10% cash back for The Body Shop.

Eco Tools is also have a 50% off sale with free shipping on every order. I love their brushes. I own almost all of them. I don't have their newest 6-piece Day to Night set, and a couple of those brushes looked interesting, so I caved. I added a couple of shower poufs to my order as well because I need to replace mine.

Other deals/info I want to share:

Silk Naturals Holiday Collection went live last week, and it looks gorgeous! Karen created a lot of really great new products and colors. I don't use a lot of loose shadows anymore, but I just couldn't resist picking up a few of the new ones. I'm also anxious to try their caffeinated lip balm. I'm a caffeine addict, so it'll be nice to get a boost without a can of soda. Through December 20, you can use the code GOBBLE12 to get 6% off your order. It isn't a huge discount, but Silk Naturals keeps their costs low to begin with (shadows are only $4 each), and they don't have sales often, so it's worth taking advantage of it.

Darling Girl Cosmetics is also having a nice sale right now. Copied from their Facebook page:

Posted a little early but I get busy in the morning and forget stuff. lol CYBERGEDDON gets you 10% off your orders through 11/26/12. I haven't removed the discounts from the collections or the mix & match sets either so that's just about 20% off of collections and mix & match shadows and I rarely offer that much of a discount!

Tarte Cosmetics is having a 25% off sale. It looks like their Holiday collection is excluded, but sale items receive the discount. You get free shipping with a $40 purchase, and Tarte also includes a deluxe sized sample with every order. 

Shameless plug: I also have a blog sale going on. Please check it out here. I just lowered some prices and added a few items. I'm willing to negotiate, especially if you are interested in multiple items.

I might end up adding to this post throughout the day. Please feel free to share any deals that you notice in the comments! Also please feel free to share what you picked up over the weekend or what you are ordering today to make me feel better about my over-spending lately. :-)

Essence Blushes - Review and Swatches

If you've read even just a couple of my posts, you've probably read a mention about me being pale. It feels really redundant to keep mentioning it, but it does make a big difference when it comes to how I view products.

I love bright colors for my cheeks and lips. I actually think they work well with my fair skin (think Snow White), but I have to be really careful when I apply bright blushes because the Snow White look can quickly become the Extra from Moulin Rouge look. Not good. That's why I decided during one of my many fall shopping trips (Shame on me!) to pick up a couple of blushes that weren't really bright and intense.

I ended up grabbing two blushes from the brand Essence, which is a super-cheap brand sold at Ulta. These blushes are currently selling on Ulta.com for $2.99 each.

Essence Silky Touch Blush in 20 Babydoll

Essence Silky Touch Blush in 10 Adorable

Left to right: Babydoll and Adorable

These blushes do have a soft, silky feel to them, and as you can see from the swatches, they have pretty good pigmentation for inexpensive, light colors. Babydoll is a slightly rose-toned, muted pink, and Adorable is a true, light baby pink. They both have a slight sheen in the pan, but they appear matte when applied.

I love that I can use a normal blush brush to apply these since I have to use a stippling brush for nearly every blush in my collection. The trade-off with these being easy for me to apply is that they don't last as long as some of my other blushes. By the end of a workday, these are pretty much gone. While that's slightly disappointing, there are days when I'm okay with trading-off a little bit of wear time to have something that is hard for me to over-apply, especially for the inexpensive price tag.

Have you tried the Essence blushes? What did you think about them? Are there any other Essence products I should check out? Do you know of any light colored blushes that are easy to apply on fair skin that last all day?

Sephora Favorites In the Glow Set - Get Glowing!

I'm disappointed that I fell off the wagon in terms of posting regularly. I was doing really well for a while there, and then I wasn't. *sigh* I don't think I've been a whole lot busier than usual either. I was hoping to get this particular post up before the VIB sale at the beginning of November, and that clearly didn't happen. 

This is a look at the second Sephora Favorites set I got during the Sephora Employee Appreciation Sale back in October. If you want to see my thoughts on the Sephora Favorites Superstars Beauty Essentials Set, you can find it here.

The In the Glow set has 9 deluxe samples and retails for $45. It comes in the same kind of sturdy cardboard box that the Superstars set came in, which can be used for storage after the products are removed. The products are a mix of bronzers, blushes, and highlighters.

Lorac Perfectly Lit Oil-Free Luminizing Powder in Spotlight - 3 g - Approximate value - $10

I'd read rave reviews about this highlighter in the past, but I was worried it would be too dark for me. This set was a great way to try it out without committing to a full size. In the swatch above, the right swatch is a heavy one, and the left one is more blended out. It will be a little dark when my summer tan is gone, but I think I'll still be able to use it. One of the nice things with this highlighter is that it isn't glittery at all; it just has a really nice sheen.

Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc in Golden Mosaic - 4 g - Approximate value - $25

This product is one that looks gorgeous, but I wasn't originally sure how to use it. In the swatches above, the first four swatches are the individual colors, and the last swatch on the far right is all four shades mixed together. Mixed together, it's too dark for me to use as a highlight, and it isn't a color I would normally use as a blush. I tried using a couple of the colors as eye shadows, and they made a really pretty look. I'll have to keep playing with it though. I might have to try using it as a blush one day.


Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush in Splendor - 3.2 g - Approximate value - $13.75

This is a really pretty bright pink with a lot of gold shimmer and some gold glitter. I cringed initially when I saw the chunkier glitter pieces in this, but thankfully, they don't really seem to stick to the skin. The color is similar to Nars Orgasm, but it isn't an exact dupe. It Splendor doesn't have the peachy undertone that Orgasm has, and it is also has more gold shimmer.

Benefit High Beam - .13 fl oz - Approximate value - $7.30

This is a cult classic liquid highlighter that adds a soft pink sheen to the skin. I've had a small sample sized bottle for a long time, and I like it, but I don't love it. I reach for my powder highlighters more. In the swatch above, the one on the right is a heavy swatch and the one on the left is blended out.

Nars Bronzing Powder in Laguna - 2.5 g - Approximate value - $9.80

I have to say that this is one of the products I was really excited to try. So many people in the online beauty community us this as their go-to bronzer, and I wanted to see what all the hype was about. This is a nice warm bronzer with a slight golden sheen to it. I haven't decided if I love it yet, but I've been enjoying testing it out.

Tarte Natural Cheek Stain in Flushed - 4.8 g - Approximate value - $3.30

This cheek stain looks really scary in the tube, but, as you can see from the swatch, it blends out to sheer berry color. I have several of their cheek stains, and the way that I like applying them is with a stippling brush. I find that they feel a bit tacky, so they are hard to blend with my fingers. A stippling brush works well. I usually sweep a bit of translucent powder over the stain after I've applied it to help get rid of that tacky feeling.

BareMinerals All Over Face Color in Pure Radiance - .57 g - Approximate value - $12.50

 This is another highlight product that looks like it would be questionable for my pale skin, but, sadly, that's because of my camera skills. With a heavy swatch like the one above, the skintoned base is really apparent, but when applied lightly to the skin, it doesn't. What does show up is tons of very fine pieces of shimmer, that don't show up in the photo. This is a gorgeous shimmery highlight, and my photos fail miserably at showcasing it.

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matter Bronzing Powder - 2.5 g - Approximate value - $7.25

This is another favorite in the beauty community that I was happy to get in this set. It is completely matte and is cooler in tone than Laguna. Like Laguna, I haven't decided if I love it yet, but I'm enjoying playing with it. I blame my general fear of bronzers. I'm always afraid of over-applying them, so I don't apply enough to really notice a difference.

Stila Convertible Color in Peony - 2.2 g - Approximate value - $11.50

This is a highly pigmented cream blush that has a really smooth feel. It blends out easily, and the color Peony is a great neutral, slightly brown-toned pink. 

My total estimated value: $100.40. The box claims a $111 value. 

Final Thoughts

I love these types of sets. I get to try a bunch of products for a lot less than if I was buying full sizes of everything, and it's a great value for just the mini sizes of them. If you love blushes, bronzers, and highlighters, I would suggest picking this set up.

Sephora Favorites Superstars Beauty Essentials - Superstar Value!

I was lucky enough to get a 20% off coupon code through their employee appreciation sale. One of the things I picked up was their Superstars Beauty Essentials kit because it came with ten products (FIVE of them are full size) for $75 before the discount. It has a nice mixture of products, and they most of them stand out to me a cult classics that beauty fanatics rave about.

The set comes packaged in a nice cardboard box tied with a glittery red ribbon. The outside of the box is a shiny red that I couldn't get a good picture of because I kept getting glare like you see in the picture above. Once the products and insert are removed, this will be a nice storage box.

The Products

*Note* I only did detailed pictures of the colored makeup products in this set.


Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil - .5 fl oz - $14 value -   I have another smaller sample of this oil, but I've only used it once or twice. I just ordered some essential oils to add to this and make it more of a skin treatment for acne-prone skin with acne scars.

Kate Somerville ExfoliKate - .5 fl oz - $19 value - I have another one of these that is almost gone. I LOVE this product, so I'm glad to have another one waiting in the wings. It is a scrub that also has enzymes in it, so it exfoliates two ways. It smells like clove to me, which isn't my favorite smell, but I don't mind it.

 Makeup Forever HD Powder - .035 oz - $3.20 value - I'm  not overly excited about this one. It's just 100% silica powder, and I already have silica powder from TKB Trading, where you can get a full ounce of product for $4.95. I'll use it, and I'll try and compare it with the TKB silica, but I can't see it being that much different.

 Chloe Perfume Rollerball - .2 fl oz - $25 value - This is a nice floral perfume that I will enjoy using.

 Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer - .33 fl oz - $18 value - This claims to be a water-resistant primer with SPF 15. Like most primers it says it with minimize the look of fine lines and pores and make your makeup stay on longer. I've only tried this once so far.

Benefit They're Real Mascara - .3 oz - $23 value (full size) - This mascara hasn't been on the market for very long, but it was an instant success. The feature that stands out with this mascara is the brush, which has bristles around the tip of the brush. I didn't take a picture of it because I'm not ready to use this mascara yet, and I don't want to open it until I do. You can see the brush here.

Sephora Microsmooth Baked Eyeshadow Trio in Sunset - 1.8 g - $17 value? (full size) - This is a nice trio that seems like it would work for most skintones.

Nars Orgasm Blush - 4.8 g - $28 value (full size) - This product is just about the epitome of cult classic products. I have heard of some people who don't care for it, but they are few and far between. It's a pretty peachy-pink blush with gold shimmer.

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner - .016 fl oz - $20 value (full size) - I have very limited experience with liquid liners. This will be fun for me to play with. I like that it has a fine, felt tip.

Buxom Big & Healthy Lipgloss in Dolly - .15 fl oz - $19 value (full size) - From the limited amount of time that I've had with this set, this gloss is my surprise favorite. It's a pretty plummy colored gloss with gold shimmer. It isn't sticky and gives a slight tingling sensation on the lips. My only minor complaint is that the tube itself is really bulky.

 

Total Value: $186.20 - The box claims that it is $189 value. I'm guessing the difference comes from the HD powder (I had to calculate the price based on a full size, and mini sizes tend to cost more) and maybe the Sephora eye shadow (I couldn't find this exact product listed online).

 Final Thoughts

This is a great set! It would be great for someone who wants to try out a bunch of new things for a great price or for someone who already loves these cult favorites and wants to get a great deal on them. Sephora is supposed to be having a VIB/BI sale soon, so that would be a great time to pick this set up!

I also picked up the In the Glow Sephora Favorites set, and I'll try and get up pictures/first impressions of that one by the beginning of next week.

What do you think? Is this set going on your wishlist? Do you have a favorite product from this set?

Weekend Haul - Sephora, Ulta, CVS, Walgreens, WalMart

My fiance's cross country team went to sectionals this weekend, and I went along as the female chaperone for the group. It was a nice trip with a really good group of high school kids. The bonus of the trip was that my duties were done after the races were over, and since I had to drive separately, I got to go shopping on my way home. It was an area that I was familiar with, so I had a list of stores that I wanted to check out and a list of things I wanted to try and pick up.

My first stop was the mall since I needed lunch and a potty break (there were only port-a-potties at the races, and I wasn't going to use one of those unless I HAD to). I then stopped in at Sephora. I wasn't planning on picking up much there because I had a 20% off coupon for Ulta, but I wanted to check it out anyway.

Look what I found!

This was a boxed set of The Body Shop that was originally priced at $42, and it was on clearance for $20. I had a new eye cream on my shopping list, and I figured I would spend that much even on a good drugstore one, so I went ahead and got this set. I love face scrubs, and I know vitamin C is good for helping with scars, so can't wait to give these a try.

I also asked for a sample of the Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation in 2.0. I got samples in a couple of Urban Decay orders I placed a while back, and I like the foundation, but 2.0 will soon be too dark for me. This way, I should have enough to get me through until I'm back to my normally super-pale self.

After a quick cruise through Bath & Body Works and not getting anything (Victory!), I headed over to Ulta to use my 20% off coupon.

I planned on buying the Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation in 0.5 because that will be my shade soon, but it wasn't in stock. Boo! There were a few other items that I considered getting as well that Ulta didn't have, which was kind of nice because I didn't walk out with much makeup. Here's what I did get:

I got a Clarisonic Mia in Turquoise. My skin started freaking out recently, and I caved to the hype. I hope it ends up being worth it. The cleanser came with it, and I picked up two extra sensitive brush heads since they were 20% off. If you've tried any of the other brush heads, let me know what you think of them. I'm thinking of picking up a couple of the deep pore ones when Sephora does their VIB sale next month.

I picked up some haircare things as well. I got the got2b dry shampoo and volumizing powder because I've been wanting to try both of them out, and I grabbed anohter Salon Grafix conditioning cleanser because I'm out and I miss having it (Side note: Salon Grafix is BOGO 50% off at CVS this week).

My current daytime moisturizer is almost gone, so I decided to give the CeraVe one a try.

I purchased the Essence dual pencil sharpener because I've read that it's a good dupe for the Urban Decay Grindhouse, and I wanted a pencil sharpener with a cap. I grabbed the NYX retractable eye liner in Bronze because I never hear anything about these, and they're cheaper than the Slide On liners.

My last Ulta item was the $9 trio of Tarte primers to try out. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to try the eye primer or not because I haven't had good luck with Tarte eye primers. If you've tried it, let me know what you think.

My next purchases were from CVS. I have a coupon for $2 off any $4.99 Wet n Wild purchase that I wanted to use. I was hoping the CVS that I stopped at would have the limited edition 8-pan palettes, but I was out of luck there. Instead I picked up two liners, one liquid and one retractable (both of them are brown, even though the packaging looks black in the picture. Sadly, I can already tell that the liquid liner is going to be a dud. It is really red when swatched.

My next stop was Walgreens. I love this particular Walgreens because I've had really good luck finding limited edition items there, and yesterday was no exception. They had the Wet n Wild display with the 8-pan palettes I was looking for. Yippee! I only picked up the Sparkle 'Til Morning palette because I thought it would get the most use.

I also noticed some Sinful Colors eye shadow palettes, and I grabbed one in Barely There Shadow. I can't wait to try it out. I just did quick swatches on my hand, and they are nicely pigmented and apply smoothly.

The last item I picked up from Walgreens was another brown liquid liner. EleventhGorgeous on Youtube loves the Jordana FabuLiner, and I've been wanting to play with liquid liners, so I figured I would give this one a try too. Thankfully, it swatches much better than the Wet n Wild one. It's a nice, deep brown.

My last stop of the day was WalMart. I thought I might pick up a couple of the new Hard Candy items, but nothing interested me there. The few things that I did pick up were a Palmer's Cocoa Butter Swivel Stick, Simple Vital Vitamin Night Cream, and a couple of powder puffs.

That was the end of my shopping adventure. Since I didn't sleep the night before (there were bugs in my hotel room beds - Ewww!), I nearly fell asleep watching a tv show with my fiance, and we were both in bed by 9 p.m. Yep...we live really exciting lives. :-)

Did you get the Ulta 20% off coupon? What did you use it on? Have you had any fun shopping adventures recently?

Physicans Formula Shimmer Strips Eye Shadows - Nude Eyes and Brown Eyes

I have always looked at the Physicians Formula eye shadow palettes when wandering the drugstore, but I never bought one because $12 always seemed a bit pricey for what they were. This summer there were a couple of good sales on Physicians Formula items, and I had ExtraBucks burning an hole in my pocket, so I finally caved.

The first palette I picked up was the Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner in Nude Eyes.

The packaging of this palette is absolutely adorable. I love the lace and the bow. The lid snaps closed thanks to a magnet.

Here's a look at the inside of the palette. It has a total of nine shades broken up into three trios intended to make progressively darker looks. The palette also comes with an angled sponge-tipped applicator.

One of my first complaints about these palettes was the size of each strip of color. The wider strips are almost exactly the width of the EcoTools brush I used for size comparison, and the skinner strips are quite a bit smaller. It makes it hard to get a single color on a brush unless you use mini brushes.

Another disadvantage with these palettes is that the shadows are extremely soft. In the picture above, you should be able to see small divots in several of the shades. Those are from the Q-tips that I used to swatch the palette since the shade strips were too skinny for me to use my fingers very well.

All of the Physicians Formula shadow palettes are aptly named "Shimmer Strips" since all of the shadows have a nearly identical shimmery finish. Each of the swatches above was done with a Q-tip on bare skin. The shades have decent but not outstanding pigmentation.

Now it's time for a confession, I've only worn these shadows on my eyes a couple of times. I disliked using the so much that I couldn't bring myself to test them more.

On the lid, the lightest shades lost their color for me. All I could see was the sheen that looked almost white. I also didn't like the look of having a completely identical finish on both the lid and in the crease. I tried doing a look using the darker shades to have the color stand out more, and I used the dark brown that is second from the left in my crease, and I had a hard time getting it to blend out. That might have been because it is darker than colors I usually use in the crease or just my general lack of blending skills, but it was still irritating for me.

Before I had tried this palette out enough to realize how much I disliked it, another great Physicians Formula sale popped up at CVS, and I got the Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner set in Brown Eyes.

The packaging of this palette is just clear plastic. It opens the same way the Nude Eyes palette does, but it has a more traditional hook-like closure.

Again, the shades have okay pigmentation, and all nine of the shadows have a nearly identical finish. The lighter flesh-toned shades lose their color on the lids. You can see in these pictures that they appear nearly white. I don't think I tried the purples on my lids at all.

Final Thoughts

I have a strong dislike for these palettes. I didn't like their arrangement in the pan or how they applied on the eye. However, these are not the worst eye shadows out there. My dislike comes more from personal preference rather than a really terrible product. I know there are plenty of people out there who really enjoy using them. I'm just not one of those people. If you are interested in picking these up, I would suggest waiting for a good drugstore sale first. I would also suggest being smarter than me and only picking up one to begin with and decide if you like it before picking up more.

Do you own any of the Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips eye shadow palettes? What do you think of them?