I went from reviewing nothing but liquid lipsticks to luck of the draw giving me tons of lip glosses! Lip gloss isn’t my favorite type of lip product, so I’m very ready to go back to a nice, matte lipstick. However, I hope that all of you gloss people are loving these reviews!
Color: Vintage is described on the ABH website as a “victorian rose”. This sounds like a pretty accurate description to me! The color is a neutral pink. In the tube there is pretty obvious gold glitters, but I couldn’t find any hint of it in the swatch or when I had it on my lips. They only became apparent after the majority of the gloss had worn off, and all that was left was a little pigment and all the glitter.
Finish: This finish is akin to a liquified lipstick more than a gloss in my opinion. It’s very thick and creamy looking, with some decent shine.
Packaging: The packaging of this gloss is pretty simple. It’s an acrylic tube with the product information and brand name printed on the side. The bottom has a sticker with the color name. The lid is a shiny black.
Applicator: The applicator is a pretty standard one for these thick glosses. It’s a large, flat paddle as opposed to a traditional shaped doefoot.
This product is extra special for me, as it was won in a giveaway from a small creator who does not seem to be around anymore. Now I see it and I think of her!
Color: Strawberry Whip is a cool toned pink that almost looks purple; kind of like a very subtle magenta.
Finish: Being a lip lacquer, this product has a very shiny and creamy finish! It also smoothed the look of my lips, creating a plump effect.
Packaging: The packaging of this product is quite unique and I like it! It’s hexagonal, so it doesn’t roll around when set to the side. The tube is a clear acrylic, and the cap is a shiny deep charcoal color. Two of the six sides have the brand name and product information printed on it in matte black, and there is a matte black stripe along the top of the tube. The bottom has a sticker with the color name on it.
Applicator: This is the first time (that I remember) seeing an applicator shaped like this! It’s a doefoot, but is shaped like an hourglass. The end has a round tip to it, which tapers in and back out again at the base. The part that tapers in seems to hold a lot of product.
I try to keep up to date on all the latest trends, so of course I was very interested when Uoma Beauty came out! The prices were a little high for me, so I didn’t grab anything unfortunately. Well, they made an off-shoot brand, with cheaper prices and different packaging for customers who couldn’t afford the higher price tag items, which I love!
I actually got this product not too long ago from Walmart, as they had a two pack on clearance! I was pumped, because as we know I love to review products that are still relevant, but for a good deal!
Color: Rosie is a soft nudey pink; It’s mostly sheer, but does end up giving my lips a bit of a pink tint. The tint is very neutral and does not look like a baby pink or hot pink.
Finish: This is a pretty shiny formula, with a slightly creamy look to it.
Packaging: I love the packaging of this! It’s a completely clear acrylic tube so the product color is clearly visible. The cap is also clear, along with the wand. On the side in white with a hot pink stripe it says “It’s Your Time to Shine”, and on the other side it states the brand name and product. On the bottom is a sticker that lists the product color.
Applicator: The applicator is a flat paddle, with one side having the soft fluffy doefoot and the other side being bare and just plastic. I saw this on another product as well and thought it might’ve been an error in production, but clearly it’s just a style used with glosses!
Before jumping any further into the review I want to point out that Bond Girl got a name change, so even though my product has that shade name, it is now sold as M.I.Kiss and will be referred to as that for the rest of this review!
Color: M.I.Kiss is described as a berry red on the Sephora website, but I don’t fully agree with that description. It’s not something I’d consider deep enough to be a berry, and instead looks to me like a neutral deep pink. I don’t feel like I get berry or red out of this color.
Finish: Despite this being the “matte revolution” lipstick, I felt like (and you’ll be able to see in the swatch, which sat on my hand for more than 5 minutes before the picture) that this was more of a satin or even cream finish. When I think of matte, I think MAC Ruby Woo, where it is completely flat with no shine. I do believe that the softer finish is more appealing to a larger group of people, however.
Packaging: The packaging of this lipstick is absolutely the standout – it’s a metal rose gold tube with lines running up and down the sides. The top of the cap has a CT stamped onto it, and when the cap is taken off you can see Charlotte Tilbury on the area where the tube of lipstick comes out. The bottom of the lipstick has a sticker with the product name.
Applicator: The bullet for this lipstick is shaped a bit different than a normal lipstick. Instead of the standard teardrop shape, the lipstick has a more rectangular shape. The top looks to have been “cut”into, giving it a more convex look as you get further down in the product.
Switching it up from my usual lip product reviews, I wanted to try out this amazing palette I snagged while I still received Ipsy bags (I was a total sucker for their addons!). Not only did I snatch up this palette, I grabbed another color way as well! This palette has pushed me out of my comfort zone, but it’s been a fantastic experience!
Packaging: This 5 pan palette is thin and features a metallic copper front. The name of the palette is on the front in white, along with the Dose of Colors logo. The inside has a slot for a brush and comes with a double sided brush, has a shiny black plastic packaging around the shadows, and features a large mirror. The mirror is obviously covered by the outer box, since I didn’t want to deal with the reflections – we all know what a good mirror looks like!
Switching gears from my TJMaxx shopping addiction to a previous subscription addiction, I got this gloss in a Boxycharm a while ago! Actually, I got it in an Ipsy even further back in the day, but then Boxycharm also sent me one in a full size this time. The timing was great, because the gloss from Ipsy had gone bad at that point.
This one is fresh and unopened until testing, which is an exciting experience for me!
Color: Pink Sequin is described on the Vintage Cosmetics website as a “light, sparkly icy-pink lilac”. I personally don’t see much of the lilac, but it definitely is a very soft, nearly clear gloss with a pink tint, and silvery looking glitter throughout.
Finish: The finish is a standard shiny gloss; there really wasn’t much for color payoff so it looked clear. Of course there is glitter particles throughout, which added a shimmery finish on top of the glossy look.
Packaging: The packaging of this product is quite lovely! The tube is a square shape and acrylic with the brand information printed on it. The cap is a metallic gold that matches the color of the information on the tube.
Applicator: The applicator for this gloss is a brush and not a doefoot. The brush is fine, but pretty small, and I did already have one hair that was frayed and sticking out. While this definitely didn’t impact application, I do want to note it for anyone who might be picky about their gloss brushes!
This post is going to be different from my typical reviews, but it’s something I feel is important to discuss and bring awareness to.
I think anyone who was in the makeup scene between 2015-2017 was horribly aware of the makeup market boom and the intense push to buy buy buy and own a massive collection of makeup rivaling that of the largest beauty influencers. Or perhaps, like me, you were completely unaware of this and fell into the trap of purchasing mass quantities of makeup you could never hope to use up.
I want to use this post for a few different reasons:
I want this to be used for awareness regarding the ease of purchasing too much makeup and what can happen when we do this and don’t use it.
I want to feel like the products aren’t just going to waste even though they are no longer going to be able to serve me.
Everything you see listed in this post is going to be makeup that I went to review, but has gone bad and is no longer useable. This means that even though there is still plenty of product left, I did not use it during it’s shelf life and it can no longer safely be worn. It will all need to be trashed or recycled as best as I can do it.
Hopefully by seeing the amount of makeup below, you’ll consider your own collection’s size and use! This post is going to be updated as I pull makeup out of my drawer and identify it as too old to review/use. It may be months in between updates on it, and that’s what I hope for more than anything!
As mentioned in last week’s review, I love finding popular, still available makeup at TJMaxx! When I saw Ruby Woo sitting on the shelf, not swatched or touched by other people as the makeup there so often is, I had to grab it.
This is one of those colors I feel like anyone who knows about makeup recognizes! MAC’s Ruby Woo feels iconic to me, so when I pulled this out to review, I couldn’t help but be excited!
Color: On the MAC website, Ruby Woo is described as a “vivid blue-red”. This color is absolutely a classic, in-your-face red, with a slight pink undertone that’s hard to notice at first, but becomes more obvious as you wear it.
Finish: They call this a retro matte and they certainly mean it. The finish from application until I take it off is completely matte; there was not even the slightest bit of sheen on my lips while wearing this color!
Packaging: The packaging of this is the iconic MAC shiny black bullet with tiny silver glitter flecks throughout, a silver ring where the cap meets the tube, and MAC printed on the cap. The bottom of the bullet has a sticker with the product name and information on it.
Applicator: As with the majority of any bullet lipstick, the shape of the product is a standard teardrop.
One of my favorite happy accidents is buying makeup from TJMaxx and finding out that it’s actually something that you can still purchase! When I pulled this out to review, I was so excited to find that it was still on bareMinerals’ website as an option to snatch up!
Unfortunately, that’s the only thing that I was really excited about after having tried this out.
Color: The BareMinerals website describes this color as a “muted mauve”. It’s definitely a my lips but better shade! It leans a bit on the pinky purple side, but is still a neutral.
Finish: With a product name that contains the words patent and lacquer, you would expect this to be shiny, and it does not disappoint! It’s got that thick, shiny look on the lips.
Packaging: The packaging is a pretty basic acrylic tube with a shiny black cap. The brand name is written on the tube with a sticker on the bottom listing the color name.
Applicator: The applicator on this is a paddle-like doefoot, with a longer, thin shape to it. I don’t know if this is normal for the product, but only one half of the paddle had fluff on it; the other side was just the plastic paddle.
Application: Unfortunately, application of this was not easy. The product is so thick and sticky that the doefoot wouldn’t want to move across my lips easily, making getting an even application as well as a decent lip line incredibly difficult. I couldn’t get into the corner of my lips nicely, and had to make a lot of touch ups after. I found that it seemed to sink into and emphasize my more prominent lip lines, but sat on top of the less obvious ones.
I’m pretty excited to have a review of something that is potentially, slightly relevant still and that you can still buy! Plus, this product is totally unique to anything else I have in my collection! Kaja is definitely known for their innovative spin on products, and this is no exception.
Color: Hunny Bun is considered a “peppy pink nude” on the Sephora website. This feels pretty accurate to me! Based on the swatch below, it’s definitely pink, but I wouldn’t go so far to say it’s just a pink; it’s got enough neutral to it that those of us who don’t love a true pink will still enjoy this!
Finish: As this is a lip gloss stick, the finish is definitely glossy! It’s got a little bit more of a cream and opaqueness to it than a traditional gloss, but it’s definitely more shiny than a typical cream lipstick.
Packaging: Kaja really knows how to make things different! The packaging is a solid tube that matches the color of the product, with the brand name on the side along with product information. The bottom of the tube is a button that you press to click the product up.
Applicator: The shape of the bullet is completely unique! It’s shaped like a heart, which is totally adorable and makes the name “heart melter” pretty literal since this basically melts onto your lips with how soft it is!
Application: As absolutely whimsical as the heart shaped bullet is, it unfortunately is a bit difficult to get a nice precise line, and I often found myself going outside my lip line. It’s also a bit of a game of getting enough product pressed out through the button to actually coat your lips, without pushing out too much and potentially smooshing it everywhere.
Transfer: Without shocking anyone, there is a pretty decent amount of transfer on this product. It comes off on my straw when I’m drinking, my food when I’m eating, and if I kissed the back of my hand you best bet there would be a complete print of my lips! The transfer continues throughout the life of the product.
Fading: This product is pretty unique in the sense that while it has a lot of shine, it tends to last more like a cream lipstick than a gloss! It did transfer a lot, but I felt like it still maintained it’s beautiful shine and appearance through the transferring for longer than a gloss would. Still, after a meal or a few hours I’d say you want to reapply if you want to look like you’re wearing anything.
Comfort: While it is pretty comfortable, I feel like this sits a bit heavy on the lips, more akin to a cream lipstick than a gloss. I’ve never used a formula like this before, so it’s totally possible that that’s just how it is, but I could always feel that I had something on my lips. It doesn’t feel drying, but I’m not sure that it really feels super hydrating, either. I think it leaves my lips exactly as they were when I put it on.
Overall: As cute and fun as this product is, I’m just not totally sure where it fits into my collection! The color isn’t bad, but honestly still a little too pink for my liking, and the formula, while fun, isn’t really my jam. I’m either going to use a gloss knowing it’s going to disappear, or use a cream lipstick for that slightly less shiny finish and longer wear.
All that to say, I don’t think this is a bad product at all! I actually think it’s pretty neat, and very unique. There’s a lot of people out there who I feel would enjoy this, but I’m still living my best matte liquid lipstick life, and this doesn’t really fit that the same way. Still, I might keep it around as an easy springtime option as that’s when I could see myself pulling it out.
Price Point: This lipstick can be purchased at Sephora or the Kaja Beauty website for $19! This has gone up since I bought it; I believe it was $17 back then. Either way, if you are die hard glossy lips, I think this could be worth a grab, especially when there is a sale!
Karissa Talks Beauty 