Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in the shade Pink Sugar + Photos & Swatches!

 Revlon Pink Sugar Lipstick

Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in the shade Pink Sugar is a sheer, light pink with silver/golden flecks of glitter. The lipstick has a yellow undertone, which is what drew me to purchase it. In the tube, it reminds me a bit of MAC Hue - but a little bit lighter. Swatched next to each other, they are quite different. While Hue is a true "bubble gum" pink, Pink Sugar is more of a "cotton candy" pink - like Nars Turkish Delight.

The biggest disappointment with this lipstick is the pigmentation. It is incredibly sheer, and no matter how many times you swipe it across your lips, it will never look like the color you see when you look at the tube. Also, this lipstick has a lot of glitter, so it feels a little gritty on your lips - which is not something I'm very crazy about. When it's on my lips, I don't find the glitter to be very noticeable. You definitely have to moisturize your lips prior to application because the very light pigment can settle into dry cracks and accentuate your dryness. It has a "glaze" finish, which I really like.

I think this lipstick is best suited for lighter skin tones. It would be a great sheer, nude for those with little pigment in their lips. This may not be the best lipstick for very pigmented lips, as it may wash you out & make your lips appear slightly gray or purple. If you like MAC Underage lipglass, you may like this. I find them to be similar in depth. Underage is a color that really didn't suit my NC40 skin tone, as it made my lips appear gray in color. So after testing it once, I gave it away. This lipstick looks the best on me when I have little to no self tanner on.

Here it is applied heavily to my lips.

I purchased this lipstick from CVS for $6.49, and received $4 in extrabucks. So, it was basically like I paid $2.49.

Have you tried this shade? What did you think of it?

Illamasqua Lover Powder Blush Review, Photos and Swatches!

 Illamasqua Lover Powder Blush

Illamasqua Lover Blush ($24) is a pale apricot with a completely matte finish. To be truthfully honest, from the photos I've seen of Lover, I expected it to be more of a soft pastel.

I've been on the hunt for the perfect peach blush, and when I came across Illamasqua Lover on various beauty blogs, it looked exactly like what I wanted. 

I do own a bunch of other peach blushes, but I really wanted a matte, true peach with no tricky/misleading undertones.

It strikes resemblance to MAC Peaches (which I no longer own) In fact, they're are so similar that you most likely don't need both, unless you're a peach fanatic, or have a preference to one of the brands. I personally prefer Illamasqua because the consistency is softer, more pigmented and easier to blend. 

NOTD: Revlon Scented Nail Enamel in #325 Gum Drop!

Three (3) Coats of Revlon Gum Drop (no top coat)

I have never really been one to buy in to scented nail polishes. I guess it's kind of a fun concept, but every scented nail polish I have ever owned had the same exact scent. That sort of - fruity, candy smell which gets a little annoying after 5 minutes.

(random story) I remember purchasing Bonne Belle nail polishes when I was in Elementary school. I actually remember when I was 5th grade I was painting my nails with a gold glitter Bonne Belle scented nail polish (that smelled like Pinneapple) during Art class while our teacher was giving us instructions. Everyone was surrounding the teacher at a table, while I was all the way in the back knealed down with my little nail polish. I suppose because it was scented, the smell drifted through the air and the teacher got up right away & questioned what the smell was. Well, he caught me red handed and I was punished by sitting in the hallway for the rest of the period. I remember him being completely mind boggled and telling me "In all of my years of teaching... no one has ever painted their nails during my class". Haha! That's my little fun memory I think of when I see scented nail polish.

Anyway, while I was at CVS - I spotted a sale sign for all of Revlon's Nail Polishes. The price is $3.99 for a bottle, and you get $3 extra bucks at checkout. Meaning, at checkout you pay $3.99 but a $3 off coupon will print on your receipt that you can use on your next purchase on anything in the store. So in the end, it's like paying 99 cents for the bottle of nail polish. Sweet deal. 

I decided on Gum Drop, which is a pastel purple perfect for the Spring. I've never really been "keen" on purple nail polishes, but there's something about these light, pastel lilac colors that I love. The formula is fine. It's very sheer, so It was necessary for me to apply 3 coats. I never apply 3 coats of nail polish, but I had to with this one. It didn't take forever for my nails to dry, which I was worried about and by the 3rd coat, I had no streaks & no nicks.

I really like this polish & will be using it again soon!

Review: Hard Candy Sheer Envy Primer

Product Description: Sheer Envy Primer helps to even out the skin while reducing shine. Improves foundation application while minimizing skin imperfections. Make-up lasts longer and skin is left velvety smooth. (Source: http://www.hardcandy.com)

The back of the tube reads "A lightweight formula that enhances the skin's texture and primes the skin for makeup application".

Instructions for use: Apply a small amount for an even layer all over your face to create a skin-smoothing finish. Once dry, follow with foundation.

The tube is 1.6 oz or 45g and can be purchased at Wal-mart for $8.

Hard Candy Sheer Envy Primer is silicone based and shares a lot of the same ingredients as Smashbox Photo Finish, ELF Mineral Face Primer, Etc. The product itself is white and a little chunky (sounds lovely, right?).. but once applied to the skin, it blends in very easily and seamlessly. The outcome is skin that is soft to the touch and slightly more matte complexion.

You can see from the photo at the end that it does mattify the skin and fill in the small cracks.

My thoughts: Although I'm not very "big" on silicone primers - or primers in general for that matter.. I actually do enjoy using this one. I reviewed ELF's Mineral Primer maybe a month or so ago (click here for reference) and although they are very similar, I prefer Hard Candy Sheer Envy. I think it has something to do with the texture. Hard Candy's primer is a little more lightweight and has less of a thick "silicone" feel to it. I really like the way it makes my skin feel velvety soft and creates a great, even canvas for my foundation. What I especially noticed is when using my Cinema Secrets (cream/cake) foundation, this primer really allowed me to use less product - as it helped the product move around my face better. I also think the end result of my foundation looked much better and even. I will make sure to use this primer on days where I'll be wearing Cinema Secrets. As for my liquid foundations, I was again able to use less product & my outcome would be a very good, even foundation application. I didn't notice though, that it pro-longed the wear of my foundation, kept shine away or camouflaged my pores like other silicone primers may do. I find it a little difficult to rate primers on their performance because I change my products all of the time (moisturizers, foundations, etc) Otherwise, I'd probably be able to rate it better. But I do overall like this product and will continue using it for certain foundations. I also think it would work fabulous with powder foundation. So, if you like silicone primers, this is a great one to look into. :)

Have you tried this product? Post your thoughts below!

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Hard Candy.