Couple of things I bought this week!

I did a little un-necessary shopping this week that I thought I'd share.  I've been obsessed with finding the Hard Candy Fox in a Box blushes and they FINALLY came in at my Walmart.  I debated over which one to buy but finally settled on Spicy & Sweet.  I also wanted to get Glamoflauge, which they FINALLY have here in Canada, but the display had been pillaged and so no Glamoflauge for me.  I did spot another product that is new, so I picked that up instead.  Here's what I bought!

These Fox in a Box blushes are said to be similar to the Benefit blushes, and they are close at least in packaging.  I'll have to see about the rest.  This undereye brightener & concealer duo is called Undercover Agent.  I figured since I couldn't get Glamoflauge, that this might be the next best thing.  It's the strangest packaging but it doesn't bother me.  You can see in the picture on the box that the concealer is a dome of product on top of the lid of the brightener tube.  I will be testing it (already worn it twice) and will let you know my thoughts soon!


I also have been hearing a lot of buzz about this next product.  It's said to keep your hair straight for...well, 3 days.  Hence the name, 3 days straight.  I have used and loved other John Frieda products so I wanted to give this a try.  

They describe this as a semi-permanent styling spray that you apply on wet hair, then blow dry, use your straightener to smooth any hair you need to, and that's it.  Your hair is supposed to then stay straight for the next 3 days.  I think the true test will be when the weather is hot out, but I'm excited to try this.  


These are the items out of their packages; 

Have any of you tried these yet?  What are your thoughts?


Tracy

Possible drugstore dupe for the new NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil

NARS just released a new Velvet Gloss lip pencil, which is a glossy version of the Velvet Matte pencil.  Available in six shades, on narscosmetics.com, retailing for $24USD.  

When I read this description of the pencils "the new pencils impart a non-sticky luminosity to lips, while featuring a lightweight formula enriched with Vitamin E"  I immediately thought of something I had recently bought, that sounded very similar.  Which was this....

The Visibly Wet Shockingly Glossy Lip Pencil by Hard Candy

I got this recently at Walmart when I was fruitlessly searching for Glamoflauge.  These caught my eye and I decided to try one.  I got the one in shade 240 'beauty'.  

If you look on the Hard Candy website you will see these come in 15 different shades.  I didn't see 15 of them at my Walmart, but they did have at least 6 or 7 different ones there.  They are about the same size as the NYX jumbo pencils, so you will need to keep that in mind for sharpening them.  

Anyway, I would describe this as a cross between a lip liner, lip gloss and lip balm.  They go on creamy smooth, and feel so moisturizing on my lips.  Not at all sticky, to me it feels almost like a tinted lip balm but with more of a color payoff.  Super easy to apply & lasts as long as any similar product on me.  

The color of this pencil isn't showing up as vibrant in these pictures, it's actually a much deeper pink.  I think if you wanted a product like the NARS pencil, but didn't want to shell out the money you might want to try this Hard Candy pencil first.  I bought mine for under $8CAD, which is a big savings!  

Has anyone else tried these?  What are your thoughts?

Product review - Hard Candy's Powder Keg in Groupie

Some of you may remember I bought this before Christmas, so I thought I'd give it a quick review.  This is my first Powder Keg shadow from Hard Candy, they have quite a few colors available but I chose 'Groupie', a pale pinkish nude color.

The first thing to note is the packaging, I love it!  This is a loose shadow but there is very little if any mess to these because of the way they are packaged.  The stopper is also the applicator, with a spongy tip on one end.  This fits snugly into the shadow with a rubberized seal, and then the cap screws on top of that.  No messy fallout to deal with when you open them.  


Here are some possibly some of the worst swatches I've ever done; 

Top row: Painterly, Body Shop matte grey #20, Wet N Wild Sugar Plum Fairy palette middle color left row
Bottom row: Top row colors with Groupie over top

Sorry about these swatches...sigh.  I don't have my usual camera this week and I just couldn't get great photos.  What I was trying to show is that you can wear this over top of other matte shadows to add some shimmer & dimension to them.  You can also wear this alone for a pretty neutral look, kind of similar to Nude Beach or Bare Skin from Bare Minerals.  

I used MAC paint pot in Painterly,  a matte nude taupe shadow from the Body Shop (no name just #29) all over the lid and up into the crease, the Body Shop matte grey (as pictured above) to deepen the outer eye and Groupie applied as a highlight just above the middle of my eye 

Again, I apologize for the photo, but this was my attempt to demonstrate how I like to use this shadow the most.  The colors just don't come thru as vividly as they appear in person, I promise.  I love how this bumps up an everyday look.  I used this a lot during the holidays just to add a little drama to my eye, both in the middle of my lid and all over the lid itself.  I thought it looked really pretty and added just the right amount of shimmer and I am NOT an overly shimmer girl at all.

The best way I've found to apply this shadow is to use the applicator to daub it on my eye where I want it, then I pat it in with my finger.  I found that using a brush seems to make it appear more shimmery & causes some fallout.  If I pat it on I don't have these issues and when used with a primer it stays where you put it. 

The verdict:

I love this shadow!  I am definitely going to try more of these, there a good array of colors available that you can check out at Hardcandy.com.  These are available at Walmart & retail in the States for about $6.  I can't remember exactly what I paid for this in Canada but I'm sure it was under $8.  Quite the deal considering I've heard a lot of people compare these to the Urban Decay loose pigments, which are more than 3x the price of these.  

Have you tried any of the Powder Keg shadows?  Are you going to try them?

Best of 2010 - Highlighters

Any reader of my blog knows I've been all about the glow this year.  I have been on the quest to find that perfect 'oh my skin always looks like this' glow from within.  Part of that has been about skincare...yada yada.  But the more exciting part has been about highlighters!  Here is what I've tried this year, and I think we can all agree that if I'm not glowing by now, I might have a problem. 

Best of 2010 - Highlighters

From top left: Tarte Glam natural cheek stain; Tarte Smooth Operator illuminating serum; N.Y.C Color Wheel in Pink Cheek Glow & Translucent; NARS Orgasm Illuminator; Benefit It Was the Perfect Alibi eye & cheek highligher; Lorac Perfectly Lit in Spotlight; ELF All Over Color Stick in Persimmon; Benefit Hollywood Glo; Benefit High Beam; ELF Shimmering Facial Whip in Citrus, Toasted & Spotlight, NYX Jumbo Pencil in Cottage Cheese; Benefit Eye Bright; Sheer Cover Lip to Lid Highlighter in Pink & Bronze, Tarina Tarantino Sparkle Powder; MAC Mineralized Skin Finish in By Candlelight

Favourite Highlighter 2010

It's a tie (I couldn't help it!)

Lorac Perfectly Lit in Spotlight

I love this product and am so happy to have found it.  I wrote a full blog post you can read here, that will give you a more detailed review.  Suffice it to say...this gives you a gorgeous glow & is not too sparkly or over the top for use during the day.  Love all around.  The only one downside is the price, this retails for about $32CAD..but a little truly does go a long way.  

Next favourite

Hard Candy Bronzer in Tiki

Again any regular reader will also know my love for this product.  This is not a bronzer but gives a beautiful gold highlight that I think would suit most any skin tone. I did a full review on this as well, which you can read here.  Hard Candy is available at Wal-Mart & this retails for less than $10CAD...pretty hard to beat, you have to try it!

Honourable Mention

NARS Illuminator in Orgasm & ELF Shimmering Facial 

Whip in Toasted

These are surprisingly similar, although I will admit that the NARS has a better golden/bronze colour & is easier to blend than the ELF.  Given the price difference however ($30 vs $1) you will have to judge what will do the job for you.  I daub a little on my cheekbones, etc. with my finger & then just lightly rub in circular motions to blend.  If I am using powder foundation I apply these first & the result is really pretty.  These are also great on hot summer days, when I don't wear as much make-up but still want a little glow.  

Least Favourite

Tarina Tarantino Sparklicity Pure Sparkle Powder

This came in my Glitz & Glam kit that I bought in Florida.  Can anyone guess why I don't prefer this product?  I am a little beyond the age where this would be cute, the picture pretty much says it all for me.  I am thinking my 13 year old niece might like to wear this for her dance/cheer competitions.  Otherwise, it's just not for me..way too much sparklicity for this girl. 

Any highlighters you swear by?  I would love to hear about them!  I thought this was going to be my last 'Best Of' post, but I have o.n.e. more coming...stay tuned.

Great stocking stuffer find - Hard Candy

I just had to share this with you all.  I braved Wal-Mart the other day (in a word...wow) and as if to reward me for my bravery I found these great little sets by Hard Candy.  I got one for each of my nieces and just maybe one for myself.  

They are called 'Face Facts' and each contains an eyeshadow primer, 3 baked shadows and a small blush/bronzer duo.  Totally adorable and best of all they are $5!  The sets are a little larger than my hand in case you can't judge the size.  One set came with brown shadows & the other with pink/purple/grey shadow.  There was also one with black/grey smokey colors.  For those of you not familiar with Hard Candy, read more about them here along with an earlier review of one of my favourite Hard Candy products.


I also got this duo of a 'Powder Keg' loose powder eye shadow in the colour 'groupie', which reminds me of swatches I've seen of the bare minerals shadow in nude beach. It came with a mini Ginormous mascara in black.  This set was $5.97.

I tried to take some pictures of a swatch but it didn't turn out too well, sorry.  I'll have to play with it a bit and try again.  

I also saw some great make-up brush sets ranging from $12-$19, and a few other Hard Candy nail polish, lip gloss & eye shadow kits.  If you have some time, and are very brave I would definitely say you should make the trip to Wal-Mart and check them out.  

My new favorite thing – Hard Candy bronzer in Tiki

Well I have to say, my latest favorite thing is also a fairly new thing for me.  I bought this about two months ago and since then have been LOVING it.  

This product is the perfect combination between a bronzer and highlighter.  Sometimes highlighters can make your face look quite shimmery, especially if you really go to town.  This doesn’t do that. 

My new favorite thing is Hard Candy’s bronzer in Tiki.  It’s a baked bronzer that is described as giving your face a beautiful dewy yet matte finish and that perfect sun kissed look. 

The description doesn’t lie, in my opinion it gives my skin a beautiful glowing finish without the shimmer.  The description of ‘bronzer’ isn’t really that accurate to me.  I find if you use only one application, it’s more of a highlight.  

Almost impossible to capture but I hope this gives you a bit of an idea, can you see the glow??

If you go over your skin a second time you will get more of a bronze color but it is still fairly light. 

I use this brush (Avon's blush brush) to apply it, pushing it down in to the product and swirling it around a little.  

I tap off the excess and then buff it into the apples of my cheeks and along my cheekbone.  The more you buff it the better it seems to get. 

I love it more than my MAC mineralized skin finish in By Candlelight, because I feel I can use it a bit more liberally without making a mistake.  MAC's mineralized skin finish is truly meant to be a highlighter and can be easily over done if you’re not careful.  I also feel that the MAC skin finishes are more of a nighttime product, meant for a nice finish for your night out look. 

The Hard Candy bronzer is a much more ‘day’ friendly product and just gives you more of an overall glow.  And I’m all about the glow.

Hard Candy used to be sold at Sephora but it’s now owned by a different company, who have a partnership with Wal-Mart, & that is where you can now find it.  Hard Candy re-designed their line in 2009 and they have introduced a number of new products, along with some of the original line.  

If you loved Hard Candy before or even if you didn’t, you should definitely check it out.  I pretty much want to own every one of their bronzers & I also have my eye on some of the baked blushes & the Sheer Envy primer. 

Have you tried any Hard Candy?  If so, let me know your favorites.