Review: CK Calvin Klien Summer Affair Bronzing Powder and Sheer Plumping Lip Gloss

Again, I'd really like to applolgize for being gone for so long. I've just been so busy with everything else that I lost track, but I'll tell you about that later. Anyhow, I stopped by Marshalls again a few days ago and found a Calvin Klein duo for FIVE DOLLARS!!! It came with a bronzer and a lipgloss. Unbelievable!!! And they had other sets on clearance too. If you live near a Marshalls you have to check these out!!! I'm not certain if Sephora still carries CK cosmetics. I haven't seen them on the website in quite a while, but I'm not entirely sure if they phased them out. Lemme know if you know!

Ok, so bronzer first.

It's the Summer Affair Bronzing Powder in 302, Sun Dance.

The compact:

I actually really like the compact. I don't normally like large, bulky ones, but this one has a nice feel to it. And it looks very sophisticated with the white lettering.

The inside:

In the store it looked a lot darker than in this picture so I was a bit worried. But really, it's a nice medium shade, not too dark, not too light. And it's not very orange either.


The powder pan lifts up and there's a little compartment for the brush.

The applicator:

I actually quite like this brush. It's flat but full, if that makes sense. The bristles are very soft, not scratchy like others you get with a powder. I actually use this one!


The bottom of the case has some holes to let the powder and brush "breath."

A swatch:

On the right it's unblended. On the left, I rubbed it in a bit.

I really like this bronzer. The powder is very soft and blends like a dream. A lot of times with bronzers they blend out splotchy, but not this one. I goes on very smooth and gives me the perfect sunkissed look. For $2.50 that's amazing. It goes on better than my Guerlain bronzer, which says a lot! And for all intents and purposes, it's matte. I know that you can see a slight sheen in the swatch, but you can barely notice it when you apply it on the face. I really hate chunky, glitzy, glittery bronzers as they make me look oilier. But no such problem with this one. I highly recommend!!!

The gloss:

First off, I love the packaging! It doesn't have any lettering on the actual tube, which is good imo. I really hate it when the writing starts to rub off and it looks old. Not a problem with this one!


I love the simplicity of CK stuff. This reminds me a lot of Chanel's packaging only a bit more modern.


The shade it came in was 203, Sugar Spun. It looks like melted brown sugar, haha! The label also says that it is a plumping gloss, which I didn't know. I don't really think it is plumping. I think that like all glosses it gives the illusion of fuller lips. I don't think there are any ingredients in it that actually plump the lips.

The applicator:

I am actually happy with this brush. Usually when I see a brush instead of a regular doe foot, I groan cause I hate having goopy lips. But this one is smaller, so it doesn't deposit too much product.

A swatch:

It's a shimmery warm tan shade that applies almost clear but with this glazed sorta glitzy look.

A swatch:


A better swatch:

It gives a bit of color, almost a caramel tint to the lips kinda like my Urban Decay Pocket Rocket in Kirk. It's very understated. I love the shine, though. It gives a really nice lacquer finish, very glossy. I didn't notice any plumping however, but it did make my lips look larger (because of the glossyness, not any actual plumping ingredients). And there isn't a strong smell or taste either, which is good. Overall, for five dollars, you can't beat both of these. Heck, five dollars is less than many drugstore lip glosses alone!!! Definitely a value, so check them out if you can at Marshalls!

Info:

Price: $5 (clearanced at Marshall's)

Ingredients:

Gloss: Polybutene, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Silica Silylate, Menthol, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Capsicum Frutescens Resin, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate, Atelocollagen +/- (May Contain/Peut Contenir) Mica, Ci 15850/Red 6, Red 6 Lake, Red 7, Red 7 Lake, Ci 15985/Yellow 6 Lake, Ci 19140/Yellow 5 Lake, Ci 42090/Blue 1 Lake, Ci 45410/Red 27 Lake, Red 28 Lake, Ci 73360/Red 30 Lake, Ci 75470/Carmine, Ci 77491, 77492, 77499/Iron Oxides, Ci 77891/Titanium Dioxide.

Bronzer: (not listed on packaging, so I'll post if I find them online).

Disclosure:The products featured in this post were bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.

Review: Boots No. 7 Lip Glace in Marshmallow

This is a review for Boots No. 7 Lip Glace in Marshmallow, a shimmery light pink. I found this at Target and I think that in the U.S. Target's just about the only place you can find this brand (except for online, of course). If I'm wrong, lemme know!



Here's the applicator:

The applicator is annoying. Although I like that it is plastic, I think it's too small. When I apply the gloss, most of the time I'm pushing the gloss around on my lips instead of evenly spreading it out. The result is an uneven application which feels gooey and a very dirty cap after you close the gloss cause the stuff is all over the applicator (on the sides). I do like the packaging as a whole. It kinda reminds me of the new Dior Kiss packaging, only rounder and larger.

Here's a swatch on my hand:

My camera and the lighting makes it look very warm, but the gloss has silver, not gold shimmer in it.

A swatch on my lips:

Again, it's a lot cooler in person. The gloss itself is very glossy. I read somewhere, and I'm not sure where, that Boots changed the formula of this gloss to make it less sticky, but I actually think that it's too thin now. I feel like it's going to slide of my lips in two minutes and the lasting power is only marginally better. It lasted about one and a half to two hours before I had to reapply. Usually, I can get three to four good hours out of a gloss, but not with this one. I do like the color and I really think that it will complement anyone who has a bit of a tan as it's an opalescent pink. There is a bit of a sweet smell to it, but nothing overpowering. I couldn't really discern much of a taste.

I have to say that overall, I probably would not repurchase this gloss. The lasting power and formula, coupled with the tiny, messy applicator are just too much to deal with for the price.

Info:

Price: $9.99 (Target)

Ingredients: Polybutene; Cera Microcristallina (Microcrystalline Wax; Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil; Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2; Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride; Polyethylene Terephthalate; Acrylates Copolymer; Stearalkonium Hectorite; Ethyl Vanillin; Saccharin; Propylene Carbonate; BHT; (May Contain) Mica; CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide); CI 15850 (Red 7 Lake); CI 15850 (Red 6); CI 77491 (Iron Oxides); CI 75470 (Carmine)

Disclosure:The product featured in this post was bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.

Review: Nars Lipgloss in Striptease

This is a review for Nar's Lipgloss in Striptease, a yellow-ish nude with orange shimmer.



The applicator is just your standard doe foot sponge:


Swatch on my hand:


Swatch on my lips, one coat:


Swatch on my lips, two coats:


I hate the smell and taste of Nar's lipglosses. They taste like chemicals and smell worse. However, my love for the brand as a whole and their shade selection helps me overcome this dislike. The shade is described on the Sephora website as a beige pearlized sheen, but I don't think it's an accurate description. It's more of a nude yellowish beige with some understated shimmer. I don't think it is a sheen at all. Now, what separates this gloss from other nudes is that it is a warm nude, but not an orange-y nude. Most of the nudes I've seen are either too cool and make me look dead or are too warm and make me look like a bimbo. This one, because of the yellow undertone and orange/golden shimmer in it looks a bit more believable.

The gloss itself, in terms of formula, is fairly thick. It's got more of a liquid lip color feel to it than a gloss. The shine isn't lacquer like-it's more understated which is good if you need to be work appropriate. I really hate the thickness of this gloss. The applicator pulls across my mouth when I apply it so I never wear it without balm underneath. It is also a very pigmented gloss, and this shade is no exception. It goes on fairly opaque with one coat. I think two is too many because then it tends to seep into lines and look gross...and make me look like the undead. But one coat hides my natural lip color. I would recommend this gloss. I know, this review doesn't sound great but you have to see the shade to understand why I like it so much. It's such a great nude, despite the formula and smell, that I have to give it a recommendation. If you're not looking for a nude, stay away cause you'll probably hate the formula.

Info:

Price: $24

Ingredients: Lanolin Oil, Polyisobutene, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Myristyl Lactate, Ozokerite, Cera Carnauba (Copernicia Cerifera Wax), Tocopheryl Acetate, Propylparaben, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil (Castor), May Contain: Mica, CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491, 77492, 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 15850 (Red 6, Red 7 Lake), CI 45380 (Red 22 Lake), CI 45410 (Red 28 Lake), CI 73360 (Red 30 Lake), CI 17200 (Red 33 Lake), CI 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake), CI 15985 (Yellow 6 Lake), CI 42090 (Blue 1 Lake), CI 77163 (Bismuth Oxychloride), CI 75470 (Carmine)

Disclosure: The product featured in this post was bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.

Review: Revlon Lipgloss and Nailpolish Duo: Sunrise Nude and Sheer Peach

So I was at Ocean State Job Lot a while ago and spotted this Revlon lip and nail duo for $1.99 and just had to get it. I really only got it for the lip gloss cause I've been craving a nude sparkly shade with not too much pigmentation, but to be honest, the polish isn't half bad.


The nail polish shade is Sheer Peach. I'd say it's more white in color than peach.


The shade of the gloss is Sunrise Nude. I've got to say that this is one of the prettiest glosses I've tried from Revlon. It's not very pigmented, but if you could see the sparkle in this baby, you'd swoon!!!


Yeah, this is as best a picture as I could get with my crappy camera. In reality, the sparkles are multicolored-some are blue-ish/purple-ish, some orange, some white. The overall effect is gorgeous but not too glitzy.

Swatch on my hand:

I would definitely say that it's got more shimmer in real life.

On my lips:

It's super super glossy, which I love about the Revlon Super Lustrous line. All of these glosses have a very lacquered finish.

And a swatch of Sheer Peach:

It's a nice nude. I'm thinking of adding a bit of white to it to make it more opaque. Other than that, it looks great on the toes.

First off, the gloss is very very glossy. It has a fairly thick lacquer feel, but it's not too sticky. I don't find this gloss (or any of the Super Lustrous glosses) drying, but I wouldn't say that they are moisturizing either. Personally, I like to layer glosses over lip balm so that my lips don't look gross by the end of the day and I don't have to deal with tackiness. This gloss also has a bit of a smell. It's fairly strong, but I don't necessarily think it's too bad. The only complaint I have about this shade is that I wish it was a bit more pigmented. You can see a slight darkening in my lips when I wear it, but not enough to really be noticeable. I really dislike clear glosses, and this one is just a few steps above that. Other than that, I highly recommend this shade and others in the Super Lustrous line. They're affordable, last, and come in a huge variety of shades.

As for the nail polish, I like the shade. It's a sheer white (a bit too sheer, in my opinion) with peach and silver shimmer in it. I really like how this shade isn't streaky. Most nudes you get at the drugstore (or even more high end actually) can be a pain to apply, but this one's great. The only warning I have to put out is that Revlon polishes tend to go on quite thick (in terms of formula). I wouldn't recommend doing more than two coats at one time because you mey end up with really gooey nails (you know, the ones that take three years to harden and then are all dented) or bubbles. But stick to two coats and you'll be fine.

Oh, and quick note-this shade (gloss) is discontinued and is the old formula. Apparently Revlon has redone these glosses and is adding SPF 15 and making them more moisturizing. I think there may be a change in packaging as well, but I'm not positive. I hope they don't change them too much cause I like the packaging. Unlike many drugstore brands, Revlon's packaging looks somewhat sophisticated but not old.

Info:

Price: $1.99 (Ocean State Job Lot-You can also find these types of duo's a Big Lots-just make sure they're not expired.)

Ingredients: Polybutene, Octyldodecanol, Diisostearyl Malate, Polyethylene, Trioctyldodecyl Citrate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aloe (Aloe Barbadensis) Leaf Extract, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Palmitate (Vitamin C), Serica (Silk Powder Poudre de Soie), Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil), Fragrance (Parfum), Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Methylparaben, Benzoic Acid, Propylparaben, BHT, May Contain (+/-):, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Mica, Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15985), Red 27 Lake (CI 45410), Red 33 Lake (CI 17200), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Red 6 Lake (CI 15850), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090), Carmine (CI 75470), FIL

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.

Review: Lancome Juicy Tube in Ginger Palace

I know all of you guys are probably sick and tired of seeing Lancome reviews, so I promise that this is the last one for a long long time, haha! I'm just a really big fan of Lanome. So many of their products are absolutely phenomenal, and the Juicy Tubes aren't excluded! The one above is Ginger Palace, from the fall 2008 Maharani Jewels Collection.



Here's the applicator:


And a couple of swatches:


And on my lips:


The color is a warm orangy brown with fine shimmer in it. It kinda looks looks like brown sugar, but warmer. Oh, and it smells sooooo good! It's like a mix of sweet brown sugar, orange, and something else... I'm not quite sure what, but it smells delicious. That is, if you like scented lip glosses. For a while, I didn't even notice that Lancome's lip glosses all smell differently, even the ones in the permanent collection. I tend to like scented glosses, but if you don't avoid this one because the scent is fairly strong (not overpowering, however, in my opinion).

In terms of application and wear, this gloss goes on very smooth, like most of Lancome's glosses. It isn't very sticky and easily lasts three hours. Now, on my lips above, it doesn't look that glossy, but it depends on how you apply it. I prefer a lighter application with this color--I just think it looks better with a neutral. But you can apply it thicker for a more glossier look just as easily. It is very comfortable on the lips, and very moisturizing as well. My lips feel sooo soft after I take this off!!!

And because nothings perfect, I do have a couple of small complaints. One, my gloss is starting to separate. I know I've had this gloss for about a year and a half (I bought it at TJMaxx a while after the collection came out), but I've had other glosses for longer and they're still fine! And can you see how messy the applicator is in the third picture!? There's gloss all over it, even where it screws into the cap. So not cool!!! I try to clean it up as best as possible, but it keeps getting messy. I think it's because, compared to other Lancome Juicy Tubes, this formula is a bit thinner, runnier. Overall, I still love the actual product and highly recommend it!!!

Info:

Price: $18

Ingredients: Polybutene, pentaerythrityl tetraisostearate, C18-36 acid triglyceride, tridecyl trimellitate, bis-diglyceryl polyacyladipate-2, silica dimethyl silylate, linalool, geranoil, calcium aluminum borosilicate, calcium sodium borosilicate, eugenol, sodium saccharin, silica, limonene, citral, synthetic fluorphlogopite, polyethylene terephthalate, polymethyl methacrylate, benayl alcohol, benzyl benzoate, benayl salicylate, alpha-isomethyl oilone, hexyl cinnamal, isobutylparaben, isopropylparaben, butylparaben, bht, fragrance.

Disclosure: The product featured in this post was bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.

Review: Lancome Color Fever Gloss in Femme Petale

This is a review for Lancome's Color Fever Gloss in Femme Petale, a sheer pink. I've already reviewed another Color Fever Gloss here, so this is more of a shade review. Refer to the other review (here) if you want to see more of my thoughts on this product.

Like all the other Color Fever Glosses this one has the same type of applicator.


Here's a couple of swatches:



I don't know how well you can tell from the pics above, but it has some gold and red shimmer in it. Originally, I had thought that it was just a matte pink, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had some shimmer in it. It's not a noticeable amount, not unless you look really closely, but it leaves your lips shimmering after the gloss has worn off. I also really like how, while it has some golden shimmer in it, it is fairly cool toned. Most of the pink glosses on the market are usually very warm, so this was a good find for me. If I wear it over a bit of a nude lipstick it gives my lips that purplish look that was so popular last spring with some of MAC's Dazzleglass lip glosses. At $26 retail, these glosses are certainly not cheap,but if you live near a TJMaxx or a Marshall's, I highly recommend checking for them there, as they usually have them for $7.99!!! This gloss was a limited edition one, but I'm sure you can find it online somewhere.

Info:

Price: $26

Ingredients: C18-36 Acid Triglyceride, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Polybutene, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Diisostearyl Malate, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Linalool, Geraniol, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Silica, Citronellol, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Isobutylparaben, Isopropylparaben, Butylparaben, BHT, Parfum/Fragrance; May Contain: CI 15850/Red 7, CI 15985 / Yellow 6 Lake, CI 19140/Yellow 5 Lake, CI 42090/Blue 1 Lake, CI 45380/Red 22, CI 45410/Red 28 Lake, CI 75470/Carmine, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77491/Iron Oxides, CI 77891/Titanium Dioxide, Mica.

Disclosure: The product featured in this post was bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.

My Three Favorite Glosses

Ok, so my three favorite glosses right now are, from top to bottom, Urban Decay Pocket Rocket in Kirk, Nars Chihuahua, and Nars Belize. This is just and introductory post. I'll have individual reviews up soon!

Urban Decay in Kirk is a sheer matte tan color. It is soooo glossy. It's perfect for someone who wants an understated nude look without the dead look you get from peachy nudes.


And it comes with some hotties on the cap!!!



Not exactly my type, but hey, I'm not complaining, haha! Eyecandy is eyecandy!

It has a brush applicator. The formula is sooo smooth!!!


L, Chihuahua, R, Belize


Some swatches:

L-R, Kirk, Chihuahua, and Belize


L-R, Nars Chuhuaua and Belize. Belize has the prettiest golden sparkles!!!


Urban Decay Kirk:




Nars Chihuahua:


Nars Belize:


Here's another pic to show just how pretty Belize is:


Anyway, my current three faves. What are yours? Let me know in comments!