Review: Wet 'n' Wild lipstick in 514A

If you're looking for a bright red, inexpensive lipstick, this may be the one for you!

Wet 'n' Wild lipstick in 514A is inexpensive (usually 99 cents), easily accessible (most drugstores and mass retailers carry it), and pretty! It's a bright red that is sure to get you noticed.
The texture of this lipstick is great. It's creamy without being too soft, and is definitely not too hard. Like all lipsticks, you'll want to make sure that your lips are soft and smooth before application. In the pictures, I just applied the lipstick straight from the tube - applying it from the brush is sure to give a sharper line.

In pictures, the lipstick leans a little pink, but I'd say that in real life, it's a true red. There is a slight bit of shimmer that is more noticeable in the tube than on the lips.

My favorite part of this lipstick is the versatility. If you just dab it on, it gives a really pretty stained look. With a thicker application, you get a true-to-tube color that is just gorgeous. When the lipstick has faded, it leaves a really pretty red stain behind. And speaking of fading - you'll be waiting a while for that to happen. I get about four hours of wear time from this baby, which is pretty great for something I got on sale for 49 cents! When you go to remove the lipstick (I've used makeup wipes to do this), it takes just the tiniest bit of wiping action to get it all off. Be careful, though - if you get the lipstick on the skin around your mouth, it'll stain. And that's not a good look, now is it? :)

Now, for the pictures!

Bare lips

Wet 'n' Wild lipstick in 514A

The tube

Review: E.L.F. 2 in 1 Conditioning Lip Gloss

Long time, no review -- sorry about that! I've had an inner and outer ear infection in both ears, so I've been bedridden with vertigo for the past week. If you've never had vertigo, let me tell you -- you are one lucky duck. Anyway, on to the review.

This 2 in 1 Conditioning Lip Gloss is available from E.L.F. for $3 on E.L.F.'s website and in select Target and Kmart stores. The shade that I have is Va Va Voom.

You can kind of see the separation of the two glosses - one is for color and the other for softening. From the side, you can really see this separation. I think it looks pretty cool!

Now, onto the product claims. E.L.F. claims "This 2 in 1 gloss has shimmering lip color in the inner tube and clear conditioning gloss in the outer tube for ultimate lip satisfaction. Hydrate your lips with key moisturizers and achieve sheer color perfection. Infused with Vitamins A and E, Aloe and Shea Butter for rich hydration." E.L.F. also suggests squeezing the product from the middle of the tube for best results.

Here's where things get sticky. No matter where I squeezed, all I got was clear gloss. Eventually, I managed to get some color. In the picture below, you can kind of see shimmer and the teeniest, tiniest bit of color mixed in with the clear (except the top left. That's what it looks like "fully colored.")

Though I followed directions and squeezed from the middle of the tube, all I got was clear. I then tried squeezing from the end of the tube, with better results.

Now, this sucker has an interesting tip. I've seen squeezy gloss tubes with slanted plastic tip applicators, and I kinda like those. This bad boy has a hard doe foot-type applicator, which I don't really like. I like doe foot applicators in gloss tubes, but this applicator is really hard, and it just kind of soaks up the gloss. A slanted plastic tip would've been better. You can see how the gloss has permeated the applicator in the picture below.

I'm not a makeup artist, nor do I share my products, but this just looks messy. I wouldn't feel that comfortable applying this in a public restroom mirror because it just looks unhygienic.

As for the color payoff, there isn't any to speak of. I know this is supposed to be sheer, but when applied to my lips, I got no color, even if it looks well-pigmented on the swatches I've done to my hand. My lips are not pigmented by any stretch of the imagination (and I do have a few freckles along my lipline) but this gloss was completely clear. When I look very closely, I can see a hint of shimmer, though.

The only thing this gloss added to my lips was shine, and lots of it. I found this gloss to be thick, goopy, and uncomfortable. I felt the need to wipe it off just as soon as I applied it. I'm also not a fan of super-shiny glosses, which definitely defines this product. On the positive side, my lips did feel soft and conditioned once I wiped the gloss off. The wear time on this is hard for me to determine. The gloss felt so uncomfortable on me that I only lasted an hour. But because it's so thick, I would imagine that it could last another hour or two.

Would I buy this again? No. I don't like the way it feels, it's completely translucent (this is the darkest shade!), and the applicator sucks. I will stick to my Blistex for lip conditioning.

Do you have this lip gloss? If so, do you like it? Why or why not? I'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or tweet me @PaleAndLovingIt

Update

Hopefully you all took advantage of the Zoya Facebook offer. I am anxiously awaiting the mailman myself. I ordered Calypso, LC, and Edyta, along with color spoons in the colors Juicy, Loretta, Mata Hari, Happi, Lillith, and Ki. Then, my fiance was being all awesome and stuff, and created an account to order me Tosca, Danielle, and Lo. I will do swatches of all of the shades once I receive my package.

In other news, I made the most wonderful Sephora purchase ever: The Urban Decay Naked Palette. Yep, Sephora had it in stock online for an hour or two before it was backorderedagain and I was one of the lucky girls who placed her order before that happened. I am definitely one to favor more natural looks -- even my more dramatic looks are created with gold and brown. My precious was awaiting me when I came back after winter break. I'm sure you have all seen it before, but in case you haven't, here are some pictures and a very quick review of Naked (note: The palette also came with a mini genie bottle of Primer Potion, which I didn't photograph). If you would like a full-on review of this, please don't hesitate to ask!

The palette, in all of its velvet, naked-y glory.

Insert "Hallelujah Chorus" here.

Virgin, Sin, Naked, and Sidecar. Sorry it's a little blurry -- I'm getting used to a new camera.

Buck, Half Baked, Smog, and Darkhorse

Toasted, Hustle, Creep, and Gunmetal

Virgin, Sin, Naked, and Sidecar

Buck, Half Baked, Smog, and Darkhorse

Toasted, Hustle, Creep, and Gunmetal

24/7 eyeliners in Whiskey and Zero. Whiskey is limited edition, Zero is permanent.

All of the shadows are well-pigmented (I did not use a base for my swatches), smooth, and creamy. They apply very well to the eyelid, but when I blend them, I find that they sometimes blend away. This may be due to my technique or blending brush (from EcoTools), but it is something to be aware of. My favorite of the bunch is definitely Half Baked, but I love the whole thing (especially the middle section). Do you have the Naked palette? Is it something you're interested in purchasing? I really recommend it if you love natural looks. It is available for $44 from sephora.com (if it's in stock). $44 may seem like a lot, but even for this budget beauty gal, it was worth it.

I know that was a really quick review, but I don't want to bore you with something you have undoubtedly seen before. If you want more information, just let me know!

xoxo

Are your lashes millionized?

So I ventured out to my local Target to see if I could get my hand on L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes. I've seen it for as much as $9, but my Target had it for $7.49. There was a surprise when I got to the register, though! I didn't look at the back of the package, since the shade (blackest black) was on the front. Happily, there was a coupon on the back for a couple of bucks off. I have to look at the receipt, but I'm pretty sure it was for $2, meaning I walked outta there paying only $5.49 -- nearly half of what Walgreens was charging.

On to the review. I'm sure you've all seen the gold-tone tube by now. But in case you haven't, here's a picture of it:

It's a little bulky for my liking, but I can let that slide, since it's so easily found in my stash! The wand is one of those newfangled rubberized wands that people seem to love or hate. I love them for separation, but not so much for volume. As advertised, there is a little device-thingy in the tube that scrapes most of the mascara off the wand. I love this -- it saves me the trouble (and mascara!) of wiping excess product off on a paper towel. The one design flaw is that, as you can see below, the wiper do-dad leaves a huge glob of product on the end of the wand. I invariably get this all over my eye area, so I find that I have to wipe this goop off. :/

As for the product itself, it's pretty decent. I've been switching off among Maybelline's Lash Stiletto, Maybelline's Colossal Volum'Express (I hate that name, by the way), and L'Oreal Clean Definition Telescopic. Voluminous Million Lashes (or VML) seems to be closer to the Telescopic than the other two. My lashes are naturally long (thanks, Dad!), but very blonde at the tips. See?

I found out that this mascara is pretty good. I get good length, and the color itself is very black. However, it's really not buildable. If you don't get the desired result in one coat (MAYBE two, if you're lucky), then you're screwed. Here's a picture of what three coats look like. Brace yourselves! (By the way, I didn't let it dry between coats)
AAAHHHH! Spider lashes!!!

I think I'll use this mascara mostly for daytime looks. I'm still on the hunt for a good drugstore mascara that will give me va-va-voom volume for amped up lashes. Here's a picture of what one coat looks like:
MUCH better. As you can see, there's a lot of length, but not as much volume as I would like. I don't have any eyeliner on in this picture, so that may help give the illusion of fuller lashes. Overall, I like this, but it's not my favorite. If you're looking for length, but don't need much volume, this may be for you. If you don't like rubberized wands, stay away. This bad boy is pretty spiky. If you're going to try it, I HIGHLY recommend waiting for a BOGO or coupon. Don't pay full price for this. If you give it a go, let me know what you think! Remember that everyone's lashes are different -- this may become your "holy grail" mascara, and it may make your lashes look like they belong on Tammy Faye Bakker.

And with that image in your mind, I leave you...for today.

Expect a nail tutorial that involves holly and glitter (LOTS of glitter) in the next few days. I'm wearing the design now, and have the pictures and everything all ready to go, but I really have to hit the books. Five final exams don't leave much time for fun. :/

As always, leave a comment or hit me up on Twitter @HonestReviewer if you have questions or just want to say hi.

xo