Quick Review: City Color Shimmer Shadows

city color shimmer shadows

Hey lovelies,

If you follow me on instagram, you’ve probably already seen this picture. I put together a short and sweet little swatch post, but I also wanted to touch on a few other things here on the blog because I personally don’t like having 100 line Instagram captions.

To be clear, even though I am an affiliate with City Color, I purchased these shadows myself last weekend during a sale. City Color had a sale every week last month, and one weekend these shimmer shadows were 50% off. These are already very affordable at $6.99 each, so when I saw they were $3.50 I snagged the shades I’ve been wanting to try.

If you follow Dupe That on Instagram, you’ve more than likely seen these compared to the Kat Von D shimmer shadows which are a whopping $21 each. Don’t get me wrong, they’re gorgeous, but single shadows have never been something I’ve felt inclined to spend that much money on.

The City Color ones are $6.99 each at regular price, and there is 3.65 grams of product in each pan. That is a lot of product. You’re definitely getting a lot for your money with this.

I do enjoy the packaging. The lettering rubs off after a bit, but I have found these easy to store in my acrylic organizers on my vanity. Because they’re flatter, they can be stacked by twos in the little containers that found from Ross.

I don’t know what I was expecting when I got these, but the first time I swatched them, my heart nearly stopped. These are so buttery. Like to the point where I feel as if I poke my finger too hard in the pan the product would crumble. I don’t believe it would, but I don’t know what other way to describe how soft the texture is.

These do not crumble though. That is actually a pet peeve of mine with shimmery shadows. I don’t enjoy the little crumbles that some can leave behind, and these don’t do that. In my opinion, the closest comparison makeup wise I can make regarding texture would be to the Makeup Geek shadows.

Very smooth. Super pigmented. Not a pain in the ass to work with.

city color shimmer shadows

Swatches from top to bottom: Cheers to Life, Marsala, New Year New Me, Bubble Bath, Homecoming Queen

I have seen Marsala compared to KVD’s Raw Power, and they are almost spot on dupes. Marsala and Cheers to Life are probably my current favorites because they are amazing Fall shades, but New Year New Me is gorgeous as well, and doubles as an awesome highlight! It’s a very pale white-gold type of shade, making it a highlight that multiple skin tones can use, including fair skin tones like myself.

I like to put a few shades over top of my tattoo because it truly shows how pigmented products are, and these shadows are no exception. These were all swatched in natural light and with no primer underneath. 

There are so many more affordable brands that are stepping up their game and bringing out some high quality products. It’s really exciting to me! I love splurging, but I also love saving a bit of money when I can, which is why I follow so many pages that find dupes. Ha!

I do have a coupon code that will save you 10% on top of every sale City Color has, and you get free shipping at $25. My code is lunafayebeauty 🙂

Though I am now affiliated with this brand, my opinions are still very honest. I’ve been a huge fan of City Color for a long time now, so naturally I was excited to have my own coupon code to share with you all in case you’ve been wanting to try a few things.

If you have these shadows, what are your thoughts on them? What are some of your favorite shades? Comment and tell me all about it!

As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you’re all having wonderful days.

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Affordable Vampy Colors

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So, I’ve went over some affordable shades of red and my favorite “my lips but better” shades, but I haven’t touched on some of my absolute favorite shades to wear…vampy shades. I know that some people will see this and gasp and shout, “BUT IT ISN’T FALL!” and honestly, who cares? Screw rules. You wanna walk outside in 98 degree weather and rock a dark purple lip, do it. Own that shit.  I wear dark colors all year. There’s just something about a simple eye and bold lip that boosts my confidence. Okay, bold lips in general do that for me.

Beautiful and high quality darker colors do not have to cost you an arm and a leg though. However, if you’re nervous about wearing a vampy color and want to drop $20 on that Anastasia liquid lippie, buying a $5 tube of a similar color could boost your confidence and allow you to see if you like the color beforehand. Skip the usual $5 latte one day and go hit up your nearest Ulta or drugstore, because that’s where many of the shades I’m about to talk about came from!

Nyx Simply Vamp “She Devil” Okay, the name of this lipstick is badass for one, but I am a huge fan of the Simply everything formula by Nyx. I am not a fan of the packaging though. If you can get past that, these are amazing, and will only cost you $6.50 I believe. She Devil is a gorgeous blackened purple color, and it reminds me of Mac’s “Cyber” lipstick that everyone was ga-ga over last year. I don’t have that one to compare, but the formula of the Nyx one is creamier and a bit glossier. It dries down to a more semi-matte finish.

Nyx Simply Vamp “Enamored” Honestly, I recommend checking out all 6 shades in the Simply Vamp line because I own them all, but I tried to choose my absolute favorites, and this is one. Every time I wear this shade I get compliments. It’s a gorgeous burgundy shade with an almost rust look to it. Very 90’s shade, in my opinion. I was a kid in the 90’s so I wouldn’t personally know, so I’m just basing that off of old pictures from The Craft.

Colourpop’s “Pitch” This shade is the essence of the 90’s. It’s a straight up chocolate brown. It’s supposed to be matte, but the Colourpop formula isn’t as matte as a liquid lipstick. This shade is most comparable to Lime Crime’s “Salem,” though it’s not a spot on dupe. I really like to wear this shade on top of the “creature” pencil to give it a more reddish tone. These are also $5 each.

Colourpop “Creature” If I’m being honest, I reach for this shade so often. I love it. It’s a deep burgundy red with a hint of brown in it. This is also matte, and looks a bit more matte on the lips than Pitch does, in my opinion. I don’t always buy the matching pencils with these lippie sticks, but creature is one that I have used so often since I’ve had it.

Colourpop’s “Feminist” The color of this lippie is BOLD. It’s a super dark blackened purple, and it reminds me of Anastasia Bevelry Hills’ “Potion” but of course the Colourpop one isn’t a liquid. So, if you’re not into the liquid lipstick trend, but want a blackened purple, look into this one! The lippie sticks are only 1 gram in product, so if you don’t end up liking it or using it often, it’s not a huge waste of product.

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Milani “Matte Fearless” I know I have mentioned this lipstick so many times already, but it is so perfect. It’s a dark purplish burgundy, and you can’t beat the price for a shade this gorgeous!

Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream “Transylvania” This is a cult favorite, and for awhile I didn’t fully understand the hype because the formula is a bit patchy on this shade. However, paired with a deep liner this shade is fantastic. I only added it in here because it is a cult favorite, and someone might be looking for a helpful tip to actually make this shade work. I love the color, but it really does look patchy alone.

City Color Be Matte “Marissa” This is the most matte formula in this post. I have said that before, but I’m saying it again so that everyone knows that this formula is much like the Melt Cosmetics formula. Super matte, and super drying. I did see a post on Dupethat stating that this shade is an exact dupe for Melt Cosmetics “Dark Room” and from what I could tell in the photo, it was a spot on dupe, finish and all. This lipstick costs $5 on the city color website, for can be found for cheaper ($2 for me) at your local Five Below.

Milani “Matte Love” This shade is a deeper cranberry shade. Perfect for those that want to try darker shades but don’t want to go from pink to goth in 2.5 seconds. I feel that this shade would be flattering on several different skin tones, and like I have said before the moisture matte collection by Milani is currently my favorite drugstore matte line.

That’s it for my post today! I hope you all enjoyed it, or at least found it entertaining in some sense. Do you wear vampy shades all year, or only in the Fall and Winter? Are you going to pick up any that I mentioned in this post? Comment and tell me about it!

As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you’re all having lovely days!

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Swatch Video: J.Cat Beauty Liptitude 24/7 Lip StainsWIld

jcat lipstick

Hey loves,

I uploaded a video to my Youtube channel last night! I think Friday may become my upload day? I dunno, still working on it. Anyway, I did a review + lip swatches of 5 out of 14 of the new J.Cat Beauty hydrating lip stains.

A few quick things:

These are highly pigmented.

They are semi matte.

The red ones do stain.

I love the heck out of this formula and the colors I swatched.

I bought all of these myself, except for the two that I got off Ipsy, but I also pay for that subscription every month.

The more I try from J.Cat Beauty, the more impressed I am. This formula is awesome, and until the August 1st you can get 25% off on these on their site.

Please watch my video and let me know what you think and if you like lip swatch videos!

Coming next week: Swatches of the Wet n Wild “High Flying Colors” palette

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J.Cat Beauty Lip Paints: Review + Lip Swatches

j.cat lip paint

Hey loves,

Today for Swatch Saturday I actually have a video! I have been trying out the J.Cat Beauty lip paints that I ordered for a bit now, and I finally sat down and did a review with lip swatches for my Youtube channel! Lip swatch videos are very intense, so I apologize if a few of the darker colors are not very pretty looking. My mouth was on fire towards the end.

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Anyway, just a little tidbit: J.Cat is a cruelty free and very affordable brand. They seem to have a ton of lip products, and I am impressed with almost everything I have tried, and I want to order more.

In the lip paint line, there are 36 colors. The packaging and color range is very reminiscent of the OCC lip tars. They are pretty different though. I would say the J.Cat lip paints are similar in concept and shade range, but pretty different in terms of the finish and lasting power. A few of these do go on patchy and need building up, but the ones that are patchy make incredible mixing shades! Overall, I do enjoy these lip paints and they are fun to play around with!

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I’m considering doing a separate video with all of my favorite mixing combinations using these. Please let me know if you would be interested in something like that, and what colors you would want to see me create! I do know a bit about color theory. Not enough to brag about, but enough to get by.

Everything else that you may need/want to know is in the description underneath the video! Please watch it and let me know what you think. Also, if you’re not subscribed to me please do so! I’m so close to 300 subscribers! So close, yet so far away.

PS- I know I spelled “review” wrong in the opening credit. Way to start a video, right? It was late, and I was tired. It happens, and I’m too lazy to delete a video and re-upload over one letter. That’s precious time that could be spent listening to music in my underwear. I’m totally kidding…

I hope you’re all having amazing days! I do plan on sitting down and catching up on comments very soon, so please don’t think I’m ignoring you! My daughters joint birthday party is this weekend and I’ve been fairly busy with that.

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Favorite Affordable Reds

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Hey everyone,

Today’s post is going to be about one of my favorite things to talk about (makeup wise)…RED LIPSTICK! If you’re not new to my blog, it’s probably obvious that I have a major love for bright red lips. I know I’m not alone. Red is such a gorgeous color on any skin tone, and for me it gives me a boost of confidence. There’s just something about a bright red pair of lips gracing my coffee mug. What else would those red lips be touching? 😉

I want to share some of my current favorite affordable red lips. I’ll create a separate post for my favorite high end reds, but it’s not many. I don’t own too many high end reds because there are so many incredible ones that are very budget friendly.

For the most part, I wear blue toned shades of red on a daily basis. I’m a coffee drinker, so no, my teeth aren’t exactly blindingly white. Blue toned reds make your teeth look whiter, but a neutral “bright” red won’t make your teeth look yellow. I wear bright reds when I’m feeling a bit more vintage…which is often. Personally, I tend to stay away from yellow and orange based reds. Even when my teeth are looking great, orange toned reds make me look like I brushed my teeth with butter.

These are 6 of my personal favorites, and no, these are not the only 6 I own. I kinda collect red lipstick. Okay, I kinda sorta really collect lipstick in general. I would say it’s a problem, but I’m not sorry about it. Anyway, let’s move on to what my current favorites are:

LA Girl Matte Lipstick in “Frisky” I have mentioned this lipstick several times on my Youtube channel, and I did a review on this line. I love this color. It’s a very true red, and it’s very bright and pigmented. I like the way this formula sets on my lips, and it’s relatively long lasting. Totally worth the $5. Frisky is a very true bright red and I find it to pull fairly neutral on my skin tone.

Colourpop Lippie Stick in “Bichette” This has been a favorite of mine for awhile now. Colourpop lippie pencils are $5 each, and it is important to say that there is only 1 gram of product per tube. With that being said, I have rarely finish lipstick. I’m constantly adding things and changing products around, so paying less for less product is fine by me. Bichette is a gorgeous deep cool toned red, and one that I do reach for often, especially on date nights. The finish says matte, but I find the colourpop matte lippie sticks go on a bit creamier, and don’t last as long because of it. Just something to keep in mind.

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Milani Moisture Matte in “Matte Confident” Okay, this lipstick truly lives up to its name and gives me confidence. This is another gorgeous blue toned red, and can be found at many drugstores for $5! Milani makes some of my all time favorite lipsticks, and this might be one of them. The packaging is adorable and the product is amazing.

Nyx Matte Lipstick in “Perfect Red” Another lipstick that lives up to its name. This lipstick is honestly the perfect red. It’s very bright, and very neutral. It’s not going to make your teeth look yellow, and it’s not very dark either. This shade is the perfect shade for recreating 50’s bombshell looks. I love the formula of these as well. Nyx did a great job at making a matte lipstick line that looks truly matte, but isn’t too drying.

Nyx Butter Lipstick in “Mary Janes”  This is another bright, cool toned red, but it’s a bit glossier. This was a more recent purchase for me, and I adore the butter lipstick formula so much. These truly do glide on very smooth. I do recommend a lip brush for more precise application, and a lip liner to help keep it in place though.

JCAT Beauty Lip Paint in “Red Queen” This is the most recent addition to my nice little collection of scarlet babies. The lip paint formula by J.Cat is comparable to the OCC lip tars, but for a third of the price. These don’t come with the nifty little brushes, but they’re nice. This red shade is very bright and pigmented, and I will be doing a full review of these on my Youtube channel soon which will include lip swatches.

That’s all that I wanted to share for today! What are some of your favorite shades of red? Tell me in the comments or tweet me! As always, thanks for reading, and if this is your first time stopping by, welcome! I hope you decide to stick around for a bit.

Have a lovely day, beauties.

Related posts:

LA Girl Lipstick review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjX0wRQ2SRM

Milani Matte Lipstick Review: https://lunafayebeauty.com/2015/01/27/review-and-lip-swatches-milani-matte-lipsticks/

Colourpop Review: https://lunafayebeauty.com/2014/10/13/first-impression-more-colourpop/

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Face of the Day: Elf Cosmetics

elf contour palette

Hey beauties,

Today I have another Face of the Day post, but there’s also a video tutorial on it! A little bit ago I posted a video about my top 10 favorite Elf products and I wanted to follow that up with a video using mostly Elf products. I used a few of my old favorites, and a few new favorites.

I even used and talked more about the new Elf contour palette!

elf contour palette

Isn’t it lovely? In short, I really like this palette so far and I think Elf did a great job with it!

For this tutorial, I did a very dark brown smokey eye…the kind of smokey eye my mom likes to refer to as “bedroom eyes.” Ha! I liked the way this turned out, and it would make my day if anyone that wants to watch it would and let me know what you think about it!

I know I’ve done a lot of bronzey and neutral looks lately, and I promise I will sit down soon and do something a little more colorful. Also, all of the products and brushes used are listed in the description under the video! If anyone has any questions or wants to know my thoughts on anything in particular, please feel free to ask! I promise that on Mondays I am too tired to bite.

elf contour palette

I do hope you all enjoy this very affordable makeup look!

Have a great Monday!

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Milani XL Bronzer: Dolci Collection

milani bronzer

Hey lovelies,

Who’s up for more swatches of new, but limited edition, things from the drugstore?

I have seen pictures floating around instagram of the new Dolci collection by Milani in drugstores, and while I was making a run to CVS I saw the display in my store. On the display there was an eyeshadow, lipstick, lip gloss, nail polish, and this big ole bronzer duo. They’re all named Dolci. I only picked up the bronzing duo though, because I actually don’t own many bronzers.

They scare me. I’m so afraid of looking like an orange or that it will look good in my mirror and like shit in natural light that I honestly just don’t use bronzers often. With Summer approaching though, I do want to give them a try again and see if I can find one that warms up my face more than my Body Shop Honey Bronzer without making me look like an orange covered in dorito crumbs.

This bronzer and highlight duo claims to be for all skin types. That’s a pretty big claim. I picked this up for $10, which is expensive in terms of drugstore products, but there is 12 grams of product in this baby and the “shelf life” of it (if you go by that kind of thing) is 36 months. So, I do believe for the amount of product there is and given you can use this for 3+ years…$10 is a pretty decent price.

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Personally, I love the packaging of this duo. It’s so Summery. The little imprinting seems to not go all the way through the product, but pretty far into it. To give an idea of the size, it fits perfectly into the palm of my hand. It’s a pretty decent size.

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On the left is the bronzer and the right is the highlight shade

These swatched very nicely. They didn’t feel powdery or apply unevenly. Both sides were very soft to the touch.

Bronzer: When you look in the pan you can see shimmery flecks in the bronzer, but it doesn’t translate onto the skin very much. This shade is pretty warm, but I have tried it once and it looked great on my skin when I used a very very light hand with it. It’s warm, but it’s not overly warm bordering on orange, if that makes sense. It does look and apply very nicely to the skin.

Highlighter: I’m trying to figure out what I can use this shade for. It’s gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, but it’s too dark for me to really use on my face as a highlight or to set anything. I may try it as an eyeshadow. I’m definetely a bit perplexed by it, but I will eventually find a use for it.

Overall thoughts: I’m happy with the bronzing side. It’s still a bit intimidating right now to me to apply, but I feel that as Summer draws nearer and my skin deepens up 1-2 more shades that it will look way better on me and not intimidate me as much. However, I feel that if you’re darker than me you should totally consider this duo! I think the overall quality and price is amazing if you’re looking to add something pretty to your collection.

Have you picked this up at your local drugstore? What are your thoughts on it? If you haven’t gotten it, will you be snagging one? Comment down below!

As always, thanks for reading and if you’re new to my blog I hope you decide to stick around!

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ColourPop Highlighters

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Hey beauties,

I have another fun review today with swatches of some of my favorite things to collect right now…highlighters! Highlighters can accent parts of the face we want to bring out, and they can give us a luminous glow. I love playing around with highlighters, and lately I have been wanting to add some different kinds to my wee collection.

Okay, so if you follow me on Instagram or have watched my last tutorial, you probably already know that I’ve had these highlighters for a bit and I am sorry that I am just now getting around to reviewing and swatching them. I wanted to test them out a few times before I gave a full review! We all know how much I love Colourpop products, but how did these measure up to the things that already chill out in my collection? Keep reading to find out!

When I ordered off Colourpop (before my latest order, I’m always ordering off that site *sigh*) I hauled a few highlighters because I really wanted to try some of these out.

I will say that while ordering I had trouble even coming up with 3 that I wanted to try because the majority of them either looked the same to me, or would be more of a blush/bronzer on me than a highlight. However, I did end up finding 3 to try out that I felt would be suitable for my paler-than-the-moon skin.

I ended up getting “Hippo” “Smoke N Whistles” and “Spoon.”

Price: $8 each, same as the blushes

Consistency: Much like the blushes, buttery but a creamy-powdery type of texture.

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As you can tell, the packaging is the same standard packaging, but the highlighters lack the neat-o pattern on top that their other products have. I don’t mind, personally. I always feel bad for sticking my fingers into pretty patterns and ruining them quickly.

These highlighters are much like the blushes and feel creamy, but have a powder finish on the skin. They are much like the blushes, but in my opinion these feel softer and are easier to apply than the blushes. I will say that these highlighters have glitter in them…or at least the ones I ordered do. So, if you’re not about the shimmery highlight, these may not be for you. I’m all about that glitter life though, and I will say that these look less glittery on the cheeks than they do on the actual swatches.

As for application, these apply the same as the blushes as well. Best with your fingers (most pigmentation) but you can use a brush if you prefer. I prefer to use a brush, and lately the brush I have been using is the highlight end of my City Color Cosmetics dual ended contour brush. The Highlight side is pretty stiff and shaped like a paddle., so I feel it picks up the right amount of product. The Real Techniques expert face brush works well, also.

The one thing I will say is that if you have dry skin, you may want to apply these gently and build up. I kinda went a bit too glowy all at once the first time and messed my foundation up a bit in the process. When I applied it gently and buffed it out slowly I had no issue. I didn’t find that the product in general clung to dry spots or looked patchy on my skin though. It was probably just my mistake because makeup makes me so happy that I sometimes forget to breathe and think while applying, but I figured I would throw that tid bit out there just in case.

Staying power: these do last all day I feel. I will say that my skin is naturally dry so face products do stick to me (literally) for a bit longer, but after watching several other reviews on these I haven’t seen many people say that these didn’t last long on them.

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Swatches left to right: Smoke n Whistles, Spoon, Hippo

Smoke n Whistles: a champagne shade with a teeny bit of reflective pink in it.

Spoon: a champagne with silver sparkle

Hippo: cool toned lavender

I find that all of these suite my skin tone sooo well. Even though Smoke n Whistles and Spoon are champagne shades, the pink shimmer makes a huge difference between the two.

My favorite of these has to be Hippo. I can’t seem to put it down. If you have cool toned skin, you NEED this highlighter in your life. It’s so beautiful and has this lavender duo-chrome look to it. I find it hard to find “unique” highlighter shades that I can pull off with my skin tone, and Hippo is a very unique highlight that pairs so well with cool toned looks.

All 3 are absolutely gorgeous though, and I do recommend these to anyone that has been wanting to place an order.

There’s a great range of shades on their site, including some that would probably work best as blushes or blush toppers. There’s a few deeper shades that could be blushes on those with lighter skin tones, and they interest me quite a bit, honestly.

Overall, I’m really happy with this product and as usual, Colourpop knows how to release products. They always seem to release a pretty awesome range of shades so that everyone can find something.

Have you tried these highlighters out? What are your thoughts on them? After looking at more swatches and seeing more people rave about Monster, I think that’s one I’m going to pick up on my next order. Because, have you see the new quad Dani from CoffeeBreakwithDani has came up with?!? I’m gonna need it.

As always, thanks for reading, and have a great Saturday!

Related posts:

Colourpop blushes: https://lunafayebeauty.com/2015/03/14/colourpop-blushes-review-swatches/

Latest Colourpop haul (high end dupe alert): https://lunafayebeauty.com/2015/05/27/colourpop-turns-1/

Tutorial with me using “Hippo:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT4kQUzF608

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Hardcandy Ombre Baked Blush and Highlighter Duo

hard cany

Hey lovelies,

Today I wanted to share a few products that I have had for awhile and have been meaning to review and swatch. If you’re new here, there’s something you should know: I love Hard Candy makeup. I think they’re an underrated drugstore brand and I wish I saw more people talking about their products! There are some misses, but lately they have been coming out with some stellar and affordable products, and I want to share a few with you all today.

The two products I want to share are an ombre baked blush and a highlighter duo. The baked blush I believe is permanent, but the heart shaped highlighter is not, sadly.

If you’re unfamiliar with Hard Candy, they’re a Walmart exclusive brand that is also cruelty free. I have done a review of their new Natural Eyes palette that I will link at the end of this post.

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First up, this baked blush. Can we just admire it for a second? It’s so gorgeous. I love baked blushes in general because I find them to be pigmented and shimmery, so many times they act as a highlighter-blush in one. No need for extra steps in my routine on a busy morning? Score! What’s unique about this ombre blush though is that you can kind of “customize” the shade you want based on where you apply your brush. You can go to the white side for just a highlight. You could go on the other side for an intense pink, or somewhere in the middle for a very pretty pink glow. It’s up to you!

This product is very pigmented and swatches very well. It looks beautiful on the cheeks. I have the shade “punch” but I’m really tempted to go and pick up the other shade as well. I find that it doesn’t take much at all to get color to your cheeks, so be wary of that if you’re not into the intense Snow White kind of look (I am, not gonna lie).

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Swatches shown left to right: highlight side alone, everything swirled together, pink side alone

See, it’s totally like getting 3 colors in one product! I love this little baked blush.

Highlighter duo: First off, the cute little heart tin packaging spoke to me. So reminiscent of the Too Faced heart-shaped boxed blushes. It’s not as fancy as the Too Faced ones, but it’s still cute in terms of drugstore packaging. This was part of the collection Hard Candy released for their 20th anniversary.

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There are two sides, obviously. A lighter and darker side. I didn’t know how the darker side would look on my fair skin, but surprisingly this product leans more on the “natural glow” side than the “wam bam highlighter in yo face” side. There’s no visible glitter in it. The texture and finish reminds me much of Physician’s Formula highlighters, and those are my absolute favorite highlighters in the drugstore.

This duo felt very soft and buttery to the touch. You can tell when you touch it that it is finely milled. I’ve also seen people depot the heart very easily by just popping the little booger out and into a z-palette, if that’s something you would want to do.

Because this is a duo, you can use either side or mix both shades together. The swatches I have are of just each side.

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I had to go over each swatch a few times simply because this product really does give a natural glow and it’s pretty hard to overdo it.

It lasted fairly well on my face, but I will say that after about 8 hours it seemed to fade away. I don’t touch up many times throughout the day, so that’s something to keep in mind if you’re wanting to wear this all day…it might fade after awhile. Would this be work appropriate? Yes. Appropriate for a night out at the club? Maybe not.

I will say that overall I’m happy with this little tin of prettiness, and I think this will look pretty in the Fall when I want a more toned done “glow from within” type of look. It’s a very pretty champagne highlighter that is pretty good quality in terms of drugstore highlights. Do I like this more than my holy grail Physicians Formula?? No, but I do think this is a nice and cute thing to add to your collection if you’re a Hard Candy lover.

As always, thanks for reading this post if you made it this far, and if you’re new here I hope you stay awhile!

Related posts:

Hard Candy Natural Eyes Review: https://lunafayebeauty.com/2015/03/11/hard-candy-natural-eyes-potential-dupe/

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Battle of the BB Creams

bb cream

Hey lovelies,

Spring is obviously here for many of us, but if you live somewhere humid as snot *raises hand* it already feels like Summer. Not gonna lie, I’m not a huge fan of Summer. If I didn’t have kids, I probably wouldn’t go outside much. I hate feeling like I’m melting.

When I do go out, I typically wear a BB cream as my main base with a tiny bit of powder on top. Full coverage foundations in The South probably aren’t gonna look cute in June and July no matter how much Urban Decay All Nighter you use..or at least for me. If you can wear full coverage in the Summer I envy you so very much. The humidity just makes it impossible for me to wear.

What is a BB cream? Some people say it stands for “beauty balm” and I’ve seen others say “blemish balm” but it’s a bit of an “all in one” type of product that covers and protects your skin, while also giving added benefits of SPF, hydration, etc. Some people wear these alone and some wear them underneath their foundations. It really depends on your preference and what you’re going for with your base.

So, today I want to talk about a few BB Creams that I have tried out over the past year and my thoughts on each. I’m going to rate these on a scale of 1-5 based on coverage, price, finish, lasting power, and overall skin benefits.

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NYC BB Matte BB Cream- Score- 3/5

I do like this bb cream since it is very decently priced, and surprisingly the “light” shade from this line is more of a color match for me than any other bb cream in this post. However, it just doesn’t set right on my skin at all. I have tried exfoliating, a serum, brush, sponge…everything. It will  look great when I first put it on and then when I look at myself an hour later I have granny face. It gives me wrinkles and I don’t even have wrinkles! It also doesn’t have spf or anything, and that’s not gonna cut it for this ghost girl in the spring time. I’m giving it a 3 because even though it doesn’t work for me, it would probably work great for someone with fair and oilier skin than me! It’s also the cheapest cream in this post, and is about $3 at most drugstores that carry NYC.

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Lioele BB Cream- Score 4/5

I have done a review on this bb cream in the past, but I recently came back to it and I really like it. It’s thick, but I can still put it on with my fingers and get even coverage. The color match isn’t great for me, but it does mix very well with my Hard Candy Glamoflauge foundation (930 porcelain). The price is probably not ideal for many, but I did snag this on sale on prettyandcute.com awhile back, and I know that it’s also sold on amazon and ladymoss.com. I don’t believe this one has spf either. I want to say this foundation is about $15-20, but it depends on where you’re buying it from in some cases. There’s no SPF in this BB cream, but it is very hydrating and lays well on the skin. This BB cream is a great one that I will probably continue to reach for and just wear SPF underneath it.

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Rimmel Matte BB Cream- Score 4/5

This BB cream is actually one that I reach for often even though I have dry skin and tend to avoid matte finishes. It has a really nice buildable medium coverage and has SPF in it. That makes it not very photo-op worthy, but it is good for your skin and will protect you from the sun. This is very affordable and readily available to many since it’s a drugstore BB cream. It doesn’t get a 5 though because the shade “light” is so off. I can easily correct it with my hard candy glamoflauge foundation or manic panic foundation, but it is annoying. This BB cream also claims to be beneficial to skin in 9 different ways, and it’s one that I do recommend trying if you’re looking for an affordable drugstore BB cream.

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LA Girl Pro BB Cream- Score 4/5

This is the newest BB cream I’ve been trying out because Nicole from young, wild, and polished recommended it to me in a comment I left on one of her videos. At $4 I figured it was worth a shot. I have the shade “fair” which is a better match for me than the Rimmel, but still pretty dark on me. However, the finish is really lovely and leaves a nice satin-but-not-too-dewy glow to my skin. I didn’t give this a 5 because there’s no SPF, but because it’s HD it will  work really well if you vlog like myself and don’t want to wear a heavy foundation on camera in the Spring and Summer. Also, this BB cream is a bit high maintenance for me some days. I feel like I have to powder my face more than usual (which is odd to begin with me, I almost never need powder) but when it’s a bit more humid than usual I feel this BB cream tends to slip a bit on my skin. So, if you have oily skin this may not be the best for you, but it’s still worth a shot given LA Girl is so affordable.

So, that was it for the BB creams I currently have in my stash. As you all can see, none received a perfect score, but none are very poor either in my opinion. Or maybe I just try to see the good in everything…who knows.

What are some of your favorite BB creams? I know that one I may end up biting the bullet and buying is the It Cosmetics CC cream because from what I can see the “fair” shade is actually made for those with fair skin and the coverage and finish looks stunning on everyone I’ve seen it on. I know it’s not a “BB” cream, but close enough to me.

I hope you all enjoyed this post, and I hope to add some more posts about random things in my stash in the future!

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Have a great day, beauties.