Product Reviews - Hard Candy Fox in a Box & Undercover Agent

Happy Monday everyone!


You may remember my post about a few items I bought recently.  I already tested & reviewed the John Frieda 3 Day Straight, which you can read here.  Now I wanted to offer my thoughts on the Hard Candy products I bought.  Since it seems like everyone has already posted pictures & reviews of the next few products, I thought I would still offer my two cents, but briefly.  Or as brief as I can be, because I do tend to rattle on. 


Product: Hard Candy Fox in a Box blush in Sweet & Spicy  
                 Retails for less than $6CDN and is packaged much like a Benefit boxed blush  
                 Comes with cute, but unfortunately useless, little brush
                 Colors include peach, bronze, light pink, darker pink

Here is an attempt at a swatch; 

I didn't say it was a particularly successful attempt.  The blush has more pink than it is showing up here.  Not sure why it's looking so muddy (maybe it's the crappy light because it's once again snowing here today and I'm about ready to lose it) but it's actually a pinky/peach with some shimmer.   


The powder does come loose quite easily, which can make it all a little messy; 

Pros: Pinky peach blush with a bit of shimmer, shimmer isn't overly noticeable once applied
           Price
           Cute packaging
           Great mix of colors with good pigmentation
           Buildable blush, can be fairly sheer or built up for more noticeable color
           Decent staying power, wore this all day with some fading but didn't disappear 
           completely


Cons: I applied this with a tapered blush brush & it was way too heavy of an application
           Powder is quite loose in the box, as you can see from above picture it can become 
           a bit messy once you swirl it with your brush
           Has some shimmer even though it's subtle, if you like matte blushes this might 
           not be for you


Overall thoughts:  
I do like this blush, I think it's one of the more popular colors that they released & for the price I'd recommend you try it.  


Will I re-purchase?  
Right now I'd say no, it's not something I'd HAVE to own but I have no regrets buying it. 


Product: Undercover Agent Under Eye Highlighter & Concealer Duo
                 Retails for approx $7 CDN, sorry I can't remember or find my receipt (stellar 
                 blogger work)
                 Meant to conceal and cover as well as brighten & de-puff your under eye area

Here is what the brighten & de-puffing gel looks like; 

Here it is blended out, next to a swatch of the concealer; 

You can see it looks a bit wet still, it actually is dry there but has a bit of a sheen to it.  The concealer is in the lightest shade they offer, there is only 3 shades available.  


Here is the concealer blended out; 

Even though I have more pink than yellow undertones to my skin, it actually blends with my skin tone fairly well. 


Pros: They give you a ton of product here, even if I run out of the concealer I can use the 
           highlighter
           The highlighter is actually a great primer to any concealer, it seemed to have a bit of
           a sheen when dry and provided a great base
           The concealer is quite thick & covers well, I found it best to warm it up with 
           my finger then dot it under my eye and I then used a blending brush to blend
           Two products in one, even if you don't like the concealer you can still likely use the 
           highlighter or vice versa


Cons: The concealer packaging is awkward, it's easy to nick the side of the concealer dome
           when you're putting the lid back on
           There is only 3 shades of concealer, so there is a good chance the concealer might not
           work for your skin tone
           I am guessing the concealer will dry out long before I'm finished with this highlighter
           The highlighter is more of a primer than a true highlighter


Overall thoughts: 
I don't care about any of the cons, I really like this!  I know this has gotten some mixed reviews but if you're wanting to try it I'd say go for it.  I think the reason some people have had trouble with the concealer is that they are applying it too heavy.  Using the method I described above, it has worked well for me with little to no creasing.  I particularly love the highlighter.  I do feel like it's not necessarily a highlighter but more of a great primer for any concealer. I've used it with the Hard Candy, my Maybelline Dream Smooth mousse concealer & my Lancome Effacernes with great results.  I love the way my eyes look when I wear this product.


Will I re-purchase?
 This will take me forever & a year to use up as you really don't need much of either product, but yes I would!


See I told you my brief reviews might not be so brief...sorry about that.  I hope this was helpful and as always, please let me know your thoughts.  Have you tried either of these, what did you think?


Tracy