Tag: ulta beauty

lip products, liquid lipstick

NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment “American Woman” | Review

Karissa

Hello friends!

I’ll be honest, as much as I enjoyed reviewing the past few products, I’m so happy to be back to liquid lipsticks! Even though they’ve lost popularity in the mainstream, I still have a ton of love for them. I’ve never had issues with most of them feeling too dry, and they’re so easy for me to wear and forget about!

Color: American Woman is described on the Sephora website as a chestnut rose, which is very accurate! It has a lot of pink in it, but I still get a distinct peach to it as well, which I think comes from the chestnut part. It’s another color in the same family as MAC’s Velvet Teddy & Pat McGrath’s Omi.

Finish: Unsurprisingly with a name like “power matte”, this lipstick goes on thin and shiny but dries down to a completely flat matte.

Packaging: Even though this is a mini, the packaging is the exact same between mini and full size. It’s a rectangular acrylic tube with a small clear window on each side. Everything else is a matte black, but not their usual soft touch packaging. The lid has NARS listed across the top, with one letter on each side.

Applicator: The applicator is so unique! I don’t believe I’ve seen anything like it. Instead of a usual fluffy doefoot or paddle, it’s a small soft applicator that is thin and pointed.

Continue reading “NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment “American Woman” | Review” →
bullet lipstick, lip products

MAC Cosmetics Retro Matte Lipstick “Ruby Woo” | Review

Karissa

Hello friends!

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.

Continue reading “MAC Cosmetics Retro Matte Lipstick “Ruby Woo” | Review” →
lip gloss, lip products

bareMinerals Gen Nude Patent Lip Lacquer “Everything” | Review

Karissa

Hello friends!

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.

Continue reading “bareMinerals Gen Nude Patent Lip Lacquer “Everything” | Review” →
Cheek products, highlighter

CoverFX Custom Enhancer Drops “Moonlight” | Review

Karissa

Hello friends!

CoverFX came on my radar when they released their custom cover drops, an ultra concentrated foundation.  From there, they developed other similar items in droppers, including these gorgeous highlighting drops!

Color:  Moonlight looks like a beautiful pale rose gold color in the bottle.  On the face, it becomes a silver color with just the slightest pink hint. Ulta’s website describes this as a “shimmering beige”, which sounds pretty accurate to me.

One huge caveat to this product is that it is infused with glitter.  I think this could be a huge turnoff to some people, because there’s a lot of people who do not want glitter on their face – just their eyes.  The first time I used it, I was shocked to find that there was glitter everywhere, and I assumed that it was because my eyeshadow also had glitter in it and it was just fallout.  After taking a really close look at this, however, I realized that there is definitely glitter being used to add the shine.

Continue reading “CoverFX Custom Enhancer Drops “Moonlight” | Review” →

bullet lipstick, lip products

MAC Electric Wonder Collection Matte Lipstick “Life in Sepia” | Review

Karissa

Hello friends!

Last year, MAC came out with arguably the most beautiful collection known to exist, a.k.a the Electric Wonder. With gorgeous packaging and popular, wearable shades this was sure to draw the eyes of anyone interested in traditionally feminine, “instagramable” packaging. I, of course, was no exception!

Color: Life in Sepia is a cool, mid-toned brown. On the lips, it definitely has a grey undertone – this is the kind of color that most people either love or hate. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a vampy color, but it is definitely darker than a traditional nude.

Finish: As the name suggests, this is a matte finish. Even when it goes on there is very little shine, which quickly fades into a flat appearance.

Packaging: Unsurprisingly, the packaging of this lipstick is its selling point. It is a gorgeous pink marble, with veins of metallic gold scattered throughout. The inner portion of the tube is a matte gold, along with the small bit that peeks out and the MAC printed on it. The actual shape of the tube is a traditional MAC bullet lipstick.

Applicator: The shape of the actual lipstick is basic – just like any other lipstick shape with a traditional tear drop shape and a point.

Application: Applying this lipstick was as easy as any other bullet lipstick. Even after wearing it down a bit, I didn’t have problems with getting straight lines. One thing I will point out is that this particular shade is one that shows my natural lip colors on the edges if I don’t cover them completely. That just meant I had to be a little extra careful to make sure I got all the edges otherwise you could see pink, which looked a bit strange.

One other thing that is incredibly important to point out is the strong vanilla scent that MAC lipsticks have. This one is no exception – I could smell it upon application and for about 5 minutes after.

Continue reading “MAC Electric Wonder Collection Matte Lipstick “Life in Sepia” | Review” →

lip gloss, lip products

Ofra Cosmetics x Madison Miller Lip Gloss “Smiley For Ryleigh” | Review

Karissa

Hello friends!

I will forever talk about how much I adore Ipsy, and this is part of the reason why! I was able to get this lip gloss as part of my bag – I love being able to try new collections from brands I enjoy!

Color: This is a mostly transparent peach gloss with tons of glitter. There is a hint of peach color in the base, but for the most part it’s clear with shimmer.

Finish: The finish of this is shiny, but more so I’d say this is a glitter finish gloss due to the lack of base pigment.

Packaging: The packaging of this gloss is a beautiful matte white cap with a plain acrylic tube and Ofra written on the cap. The product information is white, printed on the tube, and appears to have Madison Miller’s signature on it.

Applicator: The applicator functions like a basic doefoot, however it does have an interesting curve to it and a bit of a “chair” shape. I’m not sure if that really improves the application, but it is kind of fun.

Application: Application of this gloss is pretty easy. I dipped into the tube twice; once for each lip. Since the base is mostly clear I wasn’t too worried about going outside of the lip lines. One thing I do want to caution is that it can look streaky and clumpy upon initial application until you “blend” with the doefoot – so I’d be careful about applying without a mirror. You could also rub your lips together to distribute the pigment a bit more, but it was something I had noticed. This is me being nit picky!

There is a very sweet vanilla scent that dissipates after application.

Continue reading “Ofra Cosmetics x Madison Miller Lip Gloss “Smiley For Ryleigh” | Review” →

lip products, liquid lipstick

Smashbox Always On Matte Liquid Lipstick “Babe Alert” | Review

Karissa

Hello friends!

Aside from primers, one product that really worked for Smashbox was their liquid lipsticks! So many people discussed them when they first came out, and even years later I still hear people talk about these being a favorite formula.

Color: Babe Alert is a corally-pink nude. It’s got a warm undertone, and is mostly pink but feels more wearable than what I’d consider a “true pink”. Sephora and Ulta both describe this as a “nude rose” – I’d say more rose than nude.

Finish: This lipstick dries down to a completely flat matte finish. Even upon initial application the actual appearance of the dry down was pretty quick; there wasn’t any period of shine.

Packaging: The lipstick that I have is a sample size, but the packaging is similar between the full size and sample size. It is a large square acrylic tube with a black cap. The label is printed directly on the tube and doesn’t appear to be a sticker.

Applicator: The applicator on this lip product is a tear drop shape with a hole (also known as a well) in the center that holds extra product. It’s got a bit of a fuzzy texture to it but I didn’t find that there was any problems with that making the edges less crisp.

Application: Applying this lipstick is very easy. The teardrop shape made getting a sharp line simple, and the well holds enough product to cover both lips without having to dip back in.

I did feel like even with applying the normal amount that comes on the applicator, the product felt thick going on. This, in turn, played in to the amount of time that it took for the product to dry & I believe also played into how it looked later on.

Continue reading “Smashbox Always On Matte Liquid Lipstick “Babe Alert” | Review” →

bullet lipstick, lip products

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick “Fire & Ice” | Review

Karissa

Hello friends!

One thing I love about really popular, classic brands like Revlon is that they’ve been around long enough to establish cult products. One such product, though less popular than another red of theirs, is Fire & Ice!

I was fortunate enough to find this color on clearance, and knew I needed to snatch it up right away!

Color: Fire & Ice is a warm red that leans a bit coral – there is a strong orange-pink undertone to it.

Finish: This lipstick is a cream finish. I’d say it would lean a bit more towards matte than lustrous like a gloss, but it’s not quite satin. Interestingly, it’s also relatively sheer.

Packaging: The packaging looks incredibly classic. The tube is a glossy black, with a clear window on the top of the cap so you can see the lipstick color when looking down at it. When you pull the lid off it’s a shiny gold with Revlon printed on it.

Applicator: This is a standard cut bullet; there’s nothing special or unique about the shape.

Application: I found application on this lipstick to be as easy as any other traditional bullet lipstick. The point is just sharp enough that you can get a crisp line relatively easily, though I imagine that the more you wear it down the harder it will be to get that even line.

One thing that I struggled with was needing to build up opacity on this particular color. I would typically swipe about three times to get the opacity level I wanted. While it would look opaque from normal talking distance, when looking up close you could definitely see the darkness of my lips poking through still.

Continue reading “Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick “Fire & Ice” | Review” →

lip gloss, lip products

Colourpop Ultra Glossy Lip “Curvii” | Review

Karissa

Hello friends!

In a wonderful turn of events, I got the iluvsarahii bundle by accident when I had purchased the KathleenLight’s bundle. ColourPop had given me to go-ahead to keep my bundle while they sent me the correct one, which means that I was able to get double the product!

If you’re interested in the other colors within this bundle, my review of 951 is here.

Color: Curvii is a pale peach with flecks of pink glitter.  Depending on how thick of a layer, it can go from a nearly clear gloss with glitter, to a very opaque peach.

Finish: In terms of gloss finishes, this is relatively creamy with glitter flecks throughout.  The thicker the layer, the more creamy it looks and less gloss-like finish it has.

Colourpop Ultra Glossy Lip "Curvii" | Review - A Midwest Belle

Packaging: The packaging of this lip gloss is really pretty, as it is part of the iluvsarahii collab.  It’s the standard acrylic tube with a gold cap and gold accents.

Colourpop Ultra Glossy Lip "Curvii" | Review - A Midwest Belle

Applicator: The applicator for this gloss is a brush tip – it’s definitely not my favorite for this type of formula, as the product is thick and the brush struggles to distribute product evenly.  I also noticed that there tends to be hairs out of place frequently.

Application: I find application of this gloss to be quite tedious.  The brush applicator means that if I wanted to apply this in a thick, opaque layer I am building constantly, but have to be careful to avoid streaks due to the paleness of this shade.  If I want to use a thin layer as a “wash” of color, it still doesn’t apply evenly with the brush and so I have to dip multiple times.

I struggled to get product my lips without missing spots or having clumps of product in certain areas, with no product in others.

Continue reading “Colourpop Ultra Glossy Lip “Curvii” | Review” →

Uncategorized

New at Ulta | December 23, 2019 – January 12, 2020

Karissa

Hello friends!

I know I just posted one of these – but there were so many amazing new releases that I had to share this one as well!

The drugstore has really been knocking it out of the park with releases lately!  I have a ton of different lipsticks, concealers & foundations that looked interesting. Lipsticks in general this time around really drew me in – plus, as always, I love a good eyeshadow palette!

New at Ulta | December 23, 2019 - January 12, 2020 - A Midwest Belle

Continue reading “New at Ulta | December 23, 2019 – January 12, 2020” →