Wet n Wild Liquid Catsuit Liquid Lipstick Swatches

I have five Wet n Wild Liquid Catsuit lipsticks. The order of lipstick shades (from left to right or top to bottom) is Give Me Mocha, Goth Topic, Berry Recognize, Rebel Rose, and Missy and Fierce. I’ve included pictures with me wearing the lipstick, because arm swatches are generally can’t show if a product is going to work on me. The pictures on the left are without the flash during day time hours with a lamp on, and the right side are with the flash on in the same setting. I’ve worn all five of these outside of the house and generally like them, though I’d have to review them individually because some outperform the others. The one thing I can say is that they all have a place in my collection.

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Swatches and Thoughts

I’ve had this eyeshadow palette for a few months now. I don’t reach for it much because I have other eyeshadows I’m actively trying to pan, but this is a wonderful (and cheap!) set of eyeshadows. I absolutely adore the bottom right shade; it’s stunning on the eye and fun to work with. I don’t apply these without primer or without NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in Milk or Black Bean, so I’m not completely sure how they would work on a completely bare eye. I also always use a matte base shade and crease shade, so I’ve never solely used this palette (which, to me, is it’s only downside.) On my arm I put a line of Wet n Wild PhotoFocus Eyeshadow primer, a line of NYX Milk and then NYX Black Bean. I also have a swatched onto my bare skin for comparison. I went with the left side first, then the right side.

^Palette without flash^

^Palette with flash^

^Swatches without flash^

^Swatches with flash^

I used Temptalia’s website to help me describe the shades because I’m straight up garbage when it comes to that. Her descriptions of the shades are in parentheses; everything else is my opinion.

• The left side browbone shade (warm beige with a soft, frosted finish) is very usable on my skintone; it’s great for a subtle eye highlight. It blends well with the other colors as well.
• The left side eyelid (rosy copper with a frost finish) really only looks good when using NYX Milk as a base. I don’t use this shade very often, but I have no complaints with blendability or pigment.
• The left crease shade (warm, medium-dark golden brown with a pearly sheen) is decent, but also not a shade I use very often. I wouldn’t use it in the crease only because I struggle using anything other than matte eyeshadow in my crease.
• The left side definer shade (dark, burgundy and copper shimmered brown with subtle red undertones) looks just like the right side crease shade when applied to my eyes. I only use it very lightly on the outer v of my eye, and even then I’m not crazy about it.
• The right side browbone (pale, dirty gray-pewter with a white, frosted sheen) is just as good as the left side one, and works with mostly any eye look I do.
• I really like the right side eyelid shade (subdued, springy green with a golden sheen). It looks great over any base I use, and is super fun to work with. It’s my second favorite to use from this palette, besides the right side definer shade.
• The right side crease shade (charcoal brown with a pearly sheen) looks like a cooler version of the left side crease. I use it for the same thing as that one.
• The right side definer shade (red-brown with a teal duochrome and frosted finish) is one of my favorite eyeshadows ever, and it POPS when on top of both NYX Milk and Black Bean. It performs decently on just primer, but whenever I seem to wear it I want it to be the star of the show. It really loses its “wow factor” without any primers.

Final thoughts: I would repurchase this palette 1000x just to get that right side definer shade. It’s fun to work with and pretty inspiring, and that price can’t be beat.

Summer Makeup: The Quest for Waterproof Products

As a very sweaty person, summer makeup is the hardest challenge of mine. I’m someone who likes to wear a full face almost every time I go out, but when it comes to being in the sun, it’s not the best idea to follow my usual everyday routine. So what do I want from makeup in the summer?

In the hotter months, my skincare routine stays about the same. I wash my face at night, sometimes in the morning, and both morning and night I use the Skinfood Peach Sake Toner and the Peach Sake Emulsion. I want makeup that’ll last through the heat, whether it be at a barbecue, the beach, or while swimming. I also want to protect my skin, so during the day time, I prefer to go completely without face makeup so that I can reapply sunscreen to my face as needed. I still like to do eye makeup, as well as lipstick. From my eye makeup, I want brows that I can’t sweat/swim away, eyeliner that stays in place, and lipstick I can easily wipe away and reapply.

So far, my most bulletproof products are my Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil in Dark Brown, Essence Clear Brow Gel, and Hard Candy Stroke of Gorgeous Eyeliner in Little Black Dress. I’m still in the market for a good mascara that’s waterproof, but so far the Covergirl Clump Crusher Waterproof is pretty decent.

I went to the beach last Sunday with my bulletproof products on, plus the Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Burnt Sienna as well as the Sephora Contour Eye Pencil Waterproof in Summer Cruise. I didn’t put my face underwater because I had my hair extensions in, but let me tell you, my makeup stayed intact ALL DAY. I was at the beach for about 5 hours, sweating and swimming, and I looked just as good when I left as I did when I arrived.

I felt really good at the beach in my makeup. It was an absolutely lovely time, but as the summer goes on I’ll really be putting my “waterproof” makeup to the test. Hopefully it’ll be able to stand up to regular summer activities.

Holy Grail List

One of the things I have definitely taken away from the makeup subreddits is curating my own holy grail list. A holy grail, or HG, product is one that works perfectly for you, you always reach for and would repurchase. At the start of my makeup journey, I almost exclusively bought at Sephora, buying makeup that wasn’t only too expensive for my taste, but the wrong shades for me. I still sometimes struggle to match face products, and am planning to muster up the courage to finally go to Sephora to get my foundation matched. But at the beginning everything was either three shades too dark or two shades too light. All those pictures of family events still haunt me to this day (or should I say I haunt the pictures considering my face was a shade of white only found in ghosts.) Now I mostly shop at Ulta and Walgreens for my makeup needs, and only go to Sephora for Kat Von D liquid lipsticks and the occasional other product not sold in Ulta nor Walgreens.

There are a few categories in which I have no HG and am currently attempting to find. Those are liquid foundation, powder foundation, setting spray, and contour powder. I think that the Hard Candy setting spray might be HG, but I’ve been using the Wet n Wild and also Maybelline setting sprays so I’d need to test it out again even though I remember loving it. The current list is:

• Primer (face): Wet n Wild Coverall Primer
• Primer (eye): Wet n Wild PhotoFocus Eyeshadow Primer
• Concealer: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circle Treatment Concealer- Fair
• Setting powder: Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder- Transparent
• Blush: Wet n Wild Color Icon Blush- Mellow Wine
• Highlighter: Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Highlighter- Aura
• Brow pencil: Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil- Dark Brown
• Brow gel: Essence Make Me Brow- Browny Brows
• Eyeliner: Hard Candy Stroke of Gorgeous Felt Tip Eyeliner-Little Black Dress, NYX Matte Liquid Liner- black
• Mascara: Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara (the deluxe size), Covergirl Waterproof Clump Crusher (for bottom lashes)
• Eyeshadow (palette): Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance, Kat Von D Innerstellar (limited edition, now gone)
• Eyeshadow (single): Makeup Geek- Blacklight
• Lipstick (bullet): Urban Decay Vice Lipstick- 1993
• Lipstick (liquid): Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick- Lolita, Wet n Wild Liquid Catsuit- Give Me Mocha

Mascara Comparisons

Right now I own four mascaras. The format for each picture is the product, bare lashes, one coat of mascara, and then a second coat.

• Too Faced Better Than Sex (deluxe size)

I bought this mascara for $12.00 at Ulta. When it comes to non-drugstore mascara, I never want to buy a full size because I’ll never finish them and have to toss them anyway. I like this mascara a lot for my everyday makeup. It does not flake, and gives my lashes a nice fluffy, full look. It’s a little expensive for my taste, but is definitely something I’d look into repurchasing.

• Benefit They’re Real! (deluxe size)

I also bought this at Ulta for $12.00. It’s the same deal as the Better Than Sex mascara in that I wouldn’t buy a full size tube and even the deluxe mini size is a bit too pricey for me. It really separates my lashes and lengthens them more, but I much prefer the fluffiness I get from the Better Than Sex mascara.

• Maybelline Volum’ Express The Colossal Spider Effect mascara- classic black

Sorry about the lighting and distance change in the second coat picture; I didn’t realize it until after I was putting it together. I got this for $6.99 at Ulta. In theory, I love love LOVE the aesthetic of spider lashes. The Maybelline Colossal Spider Effect mascara doesn’t quite achieve that, and even if it did, I have to admit it wouldn’t look good on me. The formula is great as in it doesn’t run or flake on me and I’ll forever love most Maybelline mascaras, but this one is a definite WNR (would not repurchase).

• Covergirl Clump Crusher Waterproof mascara- very black

The Covergirl Clump Crusher Waterproof mascara isn’t something I use on my top lashes. I use it for my bottom lashes, even though it is a bit too much. I like the formula, it’s a decent mascara, I’m just still on the hunt for my perfect bottom mascara. I bought it for $7.99 at Ulta.

 

If I had to rank them from best to worst, it’d be Better Than Sex, Clump Crusher, They’re Real, and Colossal Spider Effect. I’m not a huge fan of the name “Better Than Sex” nor the Too Faced aesthetic, but the way it makes my lashes fuller is something I’ve yet to find in another mascara. It’s the first time I’ve bought a deluxe tube, so if it can last for three months without drying out, it might be my holy grail mascara. Hell, if it could last two months without drying up it’ll be HG.

I’ve read a lot of good things about L’Oréal mascaras, I’ll have to look into those once it’s time to toss out the Maybelline and Covergirl mascaras (which is the end of June.)

My Very First Blog Post

After years of doing my makeup daily, I decided to create a blog. It will have swatches, first impressions, face of the days, and reviews. I am by no means a makeup artist or particularly good at application. But I’m learning.

The first photo is a filtered pic from March of 2014 on my Instagram, and on the second photo is an unfiltered photo from last week. I am by no means a professional, or even necessarily good at what I do.

So why do I wear makeup?

I’ve gotten so used to doing my makeup everyday and it definitely has become the most calming part of my routine. It is also the only hobby I’ve actually gotten better at. I mean, I still don’t know what I’m doing, but progress is progress.

After years of hating myself because I couldn’t look like all the pretty girls on the internet, makeup became my safe haven where I could both be myself and not look like my natural self. I also learned how to take more flattering selfies, even if it’s not how I look in real life.

I love makeup and talk about it all the time. Unfortunately for me, no one in my personal life has any interest in it. So, here we are.