New Hard Candy Products: Glamoflauge Foundation and Fierce Effects Daring Lip Gloss

Hello again readers!

Brands everywhere have been putting out new products, and it's a little overwhelming just to keep up with it all! New collections, and new additions to permanent lines, it's really exciting!

Today I have a couple of new products introduced by Hard Candy to their permanent lines; The Glamoflauge Foundation, and the Fierce Effects Daring Lip Gloss!

The Glamoflauge Foundation comes in a clear plastic tube with a metallic plastic cap. The only design features is the black detailing on the cap, and the Glamoflauge logo is the same as on their concealer. 

It comes with a pump! I was really excited to see this, because it's such a shame when a product doesn't come with one. Think of all the wasted product! The pump for this gives off a little too much product, so sometimes a half pump is just as good, and you don't use too much. A little bit of this product goes a long way.

The texture for this foundation was surprising to me. I was expecting something really thick, but his foundation is more of a liquid texture, and it's incredibly easy to blend into the skin. It's not a full coverage foundation, I'd say more of a medium coverage, which is great. It layers extremely well, and for some, you won't need a concealer with this product.

It has an odd scent, I don't know what to call it, just... 'foundation'. It doesn't stick around long, but it's noticeable at first.

I bought Porcelain, which is the lightest shade, and the color to me is a pretty dang good match. It's more yellow than a lot of pale foundations that I've tried, and that's a great thing for me since I prefer yellow foundations over pink.

The wear time is fantastic, and I got about 10 hours before I really took the time to look for flaws. It came off my nose a little bit (because I was blowing my nose so often, so it isn't rub-resistant!), in certain areas it clung to a dry patch or two, and since I have really oily skin, it started to look like it needed a powder. 

For such a long wearing foundation, I was impressed. If I used a better setting powder I could see this working even better.

Edit: I found that if I wear it and touch my face (I know that it's a sort of no-no, but during boring classes, I rest my head on my hands often) excessively it will rub off. I only really noticed it because I had areas on my cheeks where my foundation was strangely gone, compared to the areas around it and it took me a few moments to connect the dots on that one.

This foundation retails for $7 and you get 1.1 oz of product!

I was really eager to try this, because I was hoping that this would be more of a liquid lip color than just a simple gloss. The packaging is a clear plastic with silver metallic detailing on the tube, with a plastic silver metallic cap. This is one of the 'intense' (one of eight) of the glosses, while the other 4 are sheer.

The applicator is a lip brush instead of a doe-foot applicator. For this product, I feel this works out for the best, because it packs on a good amount of product, without too much effort. The only issue I have with the applicator, is I can't press down too hard or it will fan out the bristles and get the gloss in places I don't want it to be.

Adrenaline is absolutely breathtaking. It's a deep navy with violet and blue shimmer in the product. It looks fantastic on the lips, and it's really a stunning product. It lasts for a while, about two or three hours, and it needs to be reapplied fairly often. It's a lipgloss, so I was impressed with the wear time, and wasn't expecting too much out of it.

The biggest issue I have with this, is that it has a mint scent/flavor to it. It's sweet too, with what I'm not sure, but it's a heavy mint scent. The first time I applied it, I got a little in my mouth, and ended up having a coughing fit for about a minute. Mint oils and I just don't get along because it just ends up irritating my throat (even though I'm not alergic!). Be warned that if you're sensitive to mint, or you don't like mint oils in your products, steer clear.

It's easy enough to get this product to look opaque, but if you don't want to mess with it, it layers well over lip liners too. I used it over Y2K by NYX, and it paired with it well!

I love this gloss, but I hate the mint oil in it. I'm keeping hold of this treasure, but I know I will probably only buy one other, and leave the rest.

The Fierce Effect Daring Lip Glosses retail for $5 and you get .17 oz of product!

With how much I was impressed with these, I see myself going and trying some of their new products, and also investing in some of their older gems that I never picked up.

Thanks for reading!

Saturday Swatch Spam

Hello again readers!

It has come to my attention that after so many makeup reviews and swatch posts, that I haven't gotten to a nail polish post in quite a while. To top it off, since I've been working on organizing my files, I have found a lot of photos just begging to be posted! So I hope you enjoy. :)

Maybelline

Downtown Brown is a green shimmer in a brown base. I am recently obsessed with duo-chromes, and this is pretty good. It isn't as impressive in the shade, or in fluorescent lighting, but it looks so beautiful in the sun. This requires at least three coats.

Finger Paints

It Comes Easel-y To Me is a dark violet berry creme shade. I really enjoy shades like this, and the pigmentation was wonderful. Two coats for full opacity.

Chromatic Creation is a silver holo! I was really excited for Finger Paints to be releasing a holo in their permanent line, and I was decently happy. It isn't the most impressive holo shift, it's sort of subtle, but it's there. This polish requires two coats.

Covergirl

Timeless Rubies is a rose polish with pink and copper shimmer. I'm not overly fond of this polish, but it applies so nicely. It applied in two coats.

Wine Stain is a deep wine, or an oxblood crelly, whichever tickles your fancy. It applies in three coats, because it's a little sheer. It is one of my fave polishes that I've bought recently, and it looks really beautiful.

Non Stop Stone is a taupe grey creme polish. It's pretty light, but it applies in two coats. I do notice that it pulls away from the tips of the nail, so you need to wrap this polish.

Amethyst is so pretty. A nice taupe with a violet shift. It's a lot like Downtown Brown, where the shift is really  only noticeable in direct lighting. It applied in 2 coats.

L.A. Colors

I bought both the gold glitter, and the multicolor glitter. They both have medium and small hex glitter suspended in a clear base. I'm really impressed with them, but I don't love them nearly as much as I love the silver. One coat each over Wet n Wild - Ebony Hates Chris.

Charlotte Russe

A nice light teal creme shade. I wasn't expecting the formula to be as nice as it was, but it was really great. Two coats for full opacity.

A light aqua creme shade. So beautiful. The first coat was a little thick, but it evens out beautifully.

A really unique hot pink large and medium hex glitters, and white bar glitter suspended in a clear base. One coat over Penny's light violet polish.

Essence

Deep Sea Baby is a super dark, blue-toned teal green crelly. It looks almost black in certain lighting. I dig it, it's murky and really beautiful. Two coats for full opacity.

Oh My Glitter! is a blue-violet with a pink shimmer. I used two coats for this swatch, but it would be better with three instead since the nail tips are still visible.

Over the Rainbow is a gorgeous is a light, blue-toned lavender with a blue shimmer. In most lighting it looks blue, but sometimes it pulls violet. A really beautiful shade for any collection. Two coats.

Space Queen is an iridescent shimmer. Love this one, and glad to have it. Swatched over Milani Ink Spot.

That's What I Mint is a standard mint creme. I cant' get enough of them, and this was a really great one. Applied in two coats with no issues.

Hard Candy

Blue Lagoon is a cobalt blue creme. I can't get enough of this sort of shade either, and it was a beautiful addition. It dries into a rubber finish, so I prefer it with a top-coat (like my pinky) and it is really intense in the best kind of way! I used two coats.

Bitty Blue is a really bright metallic blue. Two coats.

Layla

Softouch Effect 12 is a black that dries to a rubber finish. The formula isn't bad, but it's not my favorite either. Two coats.

Ceramic Effect 39 This is the third Layla Polish I've ever used, and it's by far my favorite. It's a deep grey/plum metallic polish packed with glitter. I wasn't liking it that much at first, but it's quickly growing on me. Really enjoy it. Two coats.

L'Oreal

Masked Affair is a polish you need in your life. It doesn't look like much in the bottle, but it has such a beautiful holo on the nail. I was really impressed and blown away. Two coats.

Orly

Teal Unreal is a teal cream polish. I couldn't resist it, and it looks fantastic. Such a great color. Two coats.

Rimmel London

I Lalac You is a lilac cream polish. Two coats.

Wet n Wild

Yo Soy! is a nude creme. I love the new packaging for these polishes, they look really amazing. Applied in two coats.

Funky Fingers

Elsa is a light blue hex glitter with white medium, small, and snowflake glitter suspended in a clear base. I like the idea, but I hate the execution. In order to get any snowflakes you have to fish them out, and it's a hassle. Two coats.

Let the Beat Drop is a beautiful blue with a violet/pink shimmer shift. Breathtaking, and only needs two coats.

Glitter Explains it All is green, blue, and white hex glitter in a clear base. Clarissa Expliains it All, remember that? Nostalgia... Two coats over Let the Beat Drop.

Saved by the Glitter is a hot pink, blue, and white glitter in a clear base. Two coats over Penny's Pink Polish.

Pep Rally is such a unique glitter. It has large, medium, and small hex glitter, and bar glitter in neon shades; blue, green, violet, orange, yellow. It's really attention grabbing, and so so gorgeous. One coat.

Teen Spirit is a fushia , black, and white glitter in a clear base. It looked really unique, so I picked it up, and I was really impressed with how it looks on the nails. One coat.

O.P.I.

 Snow Globtrotter was a polish I didn't even think twice on. It has white, and iridescent glitter in a clear base. I haven't paired it with too many polishes yet, but it looks fantastic over lighter shades. One coat.

  4 in the Morning is a black satin that's packed with silver shimmer. I'm not wild about it alone, and I pair it with a top coat. Two Coats.

I Sing in Color is the dark red crelly. I thought it'd pull darker, but in direct sunlight it's definitely a red. In some lighting it looks almost black. Two coats.

 Piggy Polish

Tic Tac Toes is a polish I picked up from clearance, and it's pretty nice. It doesn't do much on it's own, but layered over another mint shade brings out the gorgeousness of the polish. A mint base with a green shift. One coat over Orly Gumdrop.

Pure Ice

Lavan-Dare is a grey-toned lavender. It's pretty light, and can make my hands look pretty warm, so beware of that. Two coats.

Party Hard is actually darker than these pictures show... It's a dark royal blue. It can be a little streaky, and I used two coats, but three would have been better.

Moonlight is a grey taupe with blue and violet shimmer. Really impressed with this, and I think it's a must-have. I used two coats.

Thanks for reading!

L.A.Girl Glazed Lip Paint

Hello again readers!

I bought the original 6 L.A. Girl Glazed Lip Paints when they launched, and I loved them. Since then, not only have I found better ways to wear them, but I also learned how to mix certain ones together to get what I want out of them.

The second launch, gave us 12 new colors! A total of 18! It may not seem like a lot, but they have a decent range of colors; nudes, pinks, violets, reds, and oranges. There's even a gold, but I didn't get that one. Out of the 12 new ones, I didn't get three; Feisty, Gleam, and Tease.

The pigmentation like the original 6, is fantastic. It doesn't require much product at all to look good (except Tempt, which needs care to look its best) and they continue to impress/please me with how pigmented they are.

Ebay actually has some really great deals, where you can get 6 of them for 14 dollars, free shipping. It's great, because each of these retails for about 4 dollars individually (unless you buy them at Five Below like I did for the others, which is still a good deal if you get it on ebay). I'm really hesitant about neutrals and pinks, so that's how I got these six:

I should mention, for the lighter colors, when they start to dry, you will notice them settling into the lines of the lips. I don't mind it, and it just gives me a heads up to wipe off what's left, and reapply the product. 

Whisper: 

Nude. This is what I like to call the 'concealer nude' or the 'corpse lip'. If I wear this, I look rather dead, but it's my go-to lip for masculine days.

Elude:

My favorite kind of pink nude. Effortless,and looks great with everything.

Whimsical:

A light, lavender pink. 

Flirt:

A bright warm peachy pink. The color doesn't suit me well at all, so I passed it on.

Peony:

A very warm pink. It pulls very orange on my skin, and wasn't flattering. I passed it on.

Tango:

Red-Orange. Another one that just didn't look that good on me, so I passed this on.

Since I have a special place in my heart for violet lip colors, I had to pick up the three that I really wanted from the collection from 5 Below:

 Seduce:

A bright, warm, Barney Violet. Similar to other violets that I own, but I couldn't resist adding one more.

Daring:

Violet.

Tempt:

This one was the trickiest out of all of them. It's a dark, blackberry shade, that looks fantastic, but it's streaky. It needs some TLC and careful application to look opaque and precise. This is a color that would benefit from a lip liner.

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I used to apply these like a rather thick gloss: Just gloop it all over my lips. It looked terrible on some days, and it got all over the place. The worst part? If you put too much on your lips at once, it will slip between your lips and get in your mouth. Having a large glob of gloss getting in your teeth and coating your tongue isn't fun. It's a hazard of beauty I discovered.

To get a look that I enjoy with minimal effort, I apply little drops all over my lips, and then blend it in with my finger. I bet better coverage, and I don't go overboard that way. Of course, for darker colors, there will be layers involved, like most other dark lip products.

Another great thing about these, is that they open up so many possibilities. Think like OCC lip tars, where you can add different ones together to make new lip colors. I do the same, just put different dots on my lips to make more flattering creations, or some that are just not appropriate for every day wear. It really depends on my mood.

They don't last all day, but they do last quite a while. If I'm not touching things with my lips, I can get a good few hours of wear while wearing these, though I do have to reapply them if I'm out for long periods of time.

The biggest issue I have with these, is the mint oil inside them. The smell doesn't go away, it lingers. Furthermore, if I lick my lips, or any of the product gets in my mouth, it irritates my throat. It's bearable, but not always pleasant. I can tolerate it, but I wish they had a cake flavor, because the mint just puts me off entirely and makes me not want to reach for them as often as I would if they had a different flavor additive. It grosses me out to be honest with you.

These are great products, with a great price, and a great payoff. Even if you just pick up one or two, it's a great deal, and they're cheap enough that you wouldn't feel too bad picking up a lot.

Remember, if you're not a fan of mint in your lip products, you will not like these. They have a mint scent/taste to them that can be overwhelming to certain people.

Thanks for reading!

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream

Hello again readers!

I got swept up into the matte lip cream craze. With all of these brands, both mainstream and indie, putting out new matte lip products, it's easy to get overwhelmed and just break out running. I bought two, and then ended up snatching up a few more from a really fantastic deal and now... I'm stuck with 8 that I'm not completely in love with.

The packaging for these products is similar to the Xtreme Lip Creams, but with matte lids, and colored plastic bottoms. The first issue that I had with these, is that the outside packaging, doesn't accurately represent the product inside. To get the best idea of what the cream will look like, you're better off looking up looking up swatches (of if they have testers available, swatching on the back of your hand) to get the general idea of what these will look like applied to the skin.

The applicator is a standard doe-foot. It's good to apply to the cupid's bow and to the rest of the lips, but getting it to apply an even layer on the lips can be tricky - especially for the vampy shades. It doesn't hold enough pigment, and since it is not like a gloss, or an extreme lip cream, putting on uneven layers can definitely be noticeable, and it takes the extra effort to look as good as you'd like it.

Copenhagen: 

Wine red. One of my favorite shades from the collection. It applies well, and it evens out rather quickly with just a little effort.

Transylvania: 

Deep plum. The hardest lip cream to work with out of the bunch. Ironically, it was also the one I was most excited for. I never use this on it's own, only as a mixer with other lip products to deepen them up. 

Sydney:
A very light cool-toned pink. I wasn't expecting to like this shade, since I'm not a fan of light pinks, and I was right in that way. It isn't flattering on me at all. The pigmentation was really good, and applied great.

Buenos Ares:

A light coral. This is another that I was bracing myself for. It doesn't look good with my complexion, and sort of just washes me out. The pigmentation was finicky and it definitely needed two coats to look acceptable.

Istanbul:

A basic pink. I was surprised with how much I really loved this. It was one that I was looking forward to getting, but I thought I would love Milan more. I'm pleased to be wrong, because it happens to be really flattering. The pigmentation is really good too.

Milan:
Cool-Toned Pink. I was happy that this looked good on, because I swatched it loads of times before I managed to buy it. This is another shade that two coats is a necessity.

Antwerp:
A very warm pink. Not my favorite, but it's not terrible. The pigmentation was good.

Stockholm:
Warm pink-beige. I actually ended up liking this color more than the two I was lusting after (Istanbul/Milan). It's surprisingly flattering on me, and it was a pleasant surprise.

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To get the best look, each of these needs at least two layers to look their best. For the darker ones, such as Transylvania, it needs three or more to look good.  For lighter ones, like Istanbul, you can maybe get away with one really even layer. This isn't a product to reach for when you're running for the door, that's for sure.

The scent is very strange. It's a weird mixture of sweetness, like cake, but also perfume. It always shocks me, because it isn't very subtle, and it more or less lingers for a short while before you stop noticing it. I can look over it, but if you're someone who is very sensitive of scents, beware.

The texture of the lip creams is incredibly odd. To me, they never feel like they dry completely. Instead it's like a mixture between an oily Vaseline (first applied) and then a wet product covered with powder when it's "dried". I assume it has to do with the formula that is not as drying as other liquid lipsticks, but it is incredibly strange when you're expecting it to feel like most other matte lip products out there.

The pigmentation for these likes to cling to any imperfection on your lips - lines, dry patches - you name it! These are like any other matte product, that have a knack for highlighting those flaws. It's best to ensure that your lips are exfoliated and moisturized before using.

They do last a while, if you go through the steps of lining, layering, and letting it 'dry'. I got around four hours, before I noticed any fading. The lighter colors faded in a flattering manner, but the darker ones did not. I didn't notice any major staining from the darker ones.

The best part of this product, is that it has a large range of colors to choose from, and there are a lot of different nudes. There isn't just the one "universal" nude, and then a lot of vibrant colors. There is a variety, so anyone can find the shade that works best for them.

I'm not going to be buying anymore. I'm not fond of them and I don't find myself reaching for them much at all. However, I know that there are so many people out there who adore these, so they're worth a try.

Each Soft Matte Lip Cream is $6 for .27 fl oz. 

Thanks for reading!