I’ve been overhauling my makeup wardrobe lately, and a ton of makeup went in the trash. It’s important to toss expired products because they can dry out, the chemicals can break down or they can just get unhygienic from bacteria. Yuck.
There’s a silver lining, though! To soften the blow of losing some favorite products, I’ve bought some shiny new box sets for myself!
I got the Lipstick Queen Look of Love lipstick Vol 2 ($45) with 3 different lipstick formulas, which was exciting because I’ve heard great things about the brand and this let me try a few different varieties. It came with the sheer “Saint” lipstick, shimmery “Butterfly Ball” lipstick and the “Oxymoron Matte Gloss.” I thought the colors would be a lot darker than they are, but they’re still so pretty and definitely worth the money.
As a packaging nerd, I liked the “book” the lipsticks were packaged in, but I was even more impressed with the Sephora x Disney Princesses collab. I bought the Jasmine edition Storylook Eyeshadow Palette Vol. 2 ($55). It has 15 super bright, awesomely fun eyeshadows, a blush and a bronzer in a super-cool box with die-cut latticework and gold foil accents. The box even has a hidden compartment to go with the theme of secrecy. I go crazy for this stuff.
The Sephora eyeshadow formula has improved a lot over the years; they used to be hit or miss, but now they blend really nicely and have good pigmentation. The shimmery shadows were a little powdery and had some fallout issues, but they looked SO PRETTY in person and it didn’t matter much when they were applied
I did two looks with these products, here’s what happened:
The first look was a desert sunset inspired red and creamy orange look. I used all of the warm tones from the pallete, then lined with Urdan Decay 24/7 Pencil in zero ($19) and used my Urban Decay Big Fatty Mascara ($20). I also lined the inner rim of my eyes with the flesh-toned NYX wonder pencil ($4.49). It’s meant as a concealer pencil, but I think it makes a great waterline color to brighten eyes a little more subtly than a typical white pencil. I used the bronzer and blush from the Jasmine kit, but had to blend them waaaay down because they’re too dark for someone as pale as me. Good news for darker skinned girls, though!
I also used the Saint Pinky Nude lipstick from the Look of Love set, with a little bit of the Butterfly Ball in Smitten layered over for shimmer. These lipsticks are so pretty and so smooth BUT they’re really light. I was disappointed because I was hoping for a darker berry color based on the picture online, but what I got was still really pretty. They feel like creamy lip balm rather than lipstick and look really natural. Like my natural lips, just better. I don’t know if I would have bought the set if Ihad known what it was, but I still don’t regret it since I know I’ll use them. It’s sort of like a little black dress that sounds kind of boring until you realize how useful it is. The matte gloss in the kit is awesome, but more on that in a minute.
The Saint Pinky Nude on its own. The perfect nude color for me, which is actually something I’ve had a tough time finding (they can look so chalky)!
Next, I tried a blue and champagne oasis-inspired look. I used all three blue shades, plus three creamy colors. I really, really love the “Cosmic” color, it kind of reminds me of MAC Gleam. It’s a great rose gold color that would look good on anyone. I used the same mascara, but went for a layered eyeliner look. I used NYX Liquid Crystal liner in Crystal Onyx ($4.49) on the upper lashline, extending into a thin wing and mirrored the look on the bottom with NYX Glam Liner Aqua Luxe in Lagoon ($5.49).
I used the Oxymoron Matte Gloss on my cheeks and lips, and it’s super weird and awesome. It’s really solid, I pressed pretty hard with my finger and felt like I was barely picking up any product. To my surprise, the color showed up nicely. It’s like a solid version of your standard, creamy lip and cheek stain, but I think the hardness is what makes it actually work on lips. Most products like that are great as a blush, but have kind of a funky, irregular finish on lips. I’ve found this with liquid lipstains, too. This seems to get it right. I only got the product today, but I might be obsessed. Lipstick Queen is living up to the hype, I would definitely recommend them.
Check out those nicely stained cheeks and lips!
And here we are with the Butterfly Ball Smitten Lipstick on top.
Ta da! I should throw out all of my makeup more often.
Cosmetic Confessional 