It's that time of year....again! The season of rude shoppers and no convenient parking spots. I am soooo not a shopper. I hate it, loathe it actually. I have a very low tolerance for idiots and unfortunately, holidays seem to bring out the idiots in droves. I try, as much as I can, to simplify my Christmas shopping. Whether that means shopping online or hunting down bargains in the store....it's just how I do things.
So....today I have for your viewing pleasure, two *very* affordable gifty-type things for
First up:
The Wet n' Wild Deluxe Eye Collections
Price - $4.99
Where - Rite Aid
What's Inside - A mini black eyeliner, a full-size black mascara and a 6-pan eyeshadow palette
Who doesn't love a little Wet n' Wild? For most of us, I'm pretty sure some of our first makeup items were from WnW. They're affordable....super affordable....and are generally pretty damn good quality for the price. This little collection doesn't disappoint. Ok...so maybe the eyeliner and mascara aren't the greatest but, are you really buying it for those items or are you buying it for that eyeshadow palette? I was after the palette myself. I'm not sure if anyone remembers those palettes....they were discontinued a couple years ago and I was really bummed.
The shade I picked up (the Rite Aid I checked only had 2 options but, if you're really after the shadows, a little RA hunting might turn up other colors) is "Greed". I also saw "Vanity" which was a palette of coppery brown neutrals, very pretty!
"Greed" is a palette of slightly cooler-toned neutrals and to me, seems like a traditional "smoky eye" kinda thing. Six very wearable neutral colors that can take you from day to night. The shadows themselves are really, really gorgeous. Like other WnW Color Icon shadows (which I highly recommend and will do a post about my favorites soon), the formula is great for a
*Apologies for the bad lighting on the swatch pic....still working on my lighting*
Shade 1 - A matte cream. Perfect for a browbone highlight. It barely shows up on me because I'm pale as hell but, if you're a subtle highlight fan, this will work well. It was very buttery soft in texture, not chalky at all and blended out nicely.
Shade 2 - A light, warm brown. Great for warming up the crease and as a transition color for blending out the other shadows. Also would work well as a lid color if you just want a quick, everyday natural look. Again, texture was awesome...nice and soft and not chalky in the least. I was really pleasantly surprised by both of the mattes in this palette.
Shade 3 - A rich black with teeny, tiny silver micro shimmer. Not the blackest black I've seen but, it's still very deep and dark. The silvery shimmers are very subtle but, add a nice little bit of sparkle. This shade would work well along the lower lash line or blended into the outer "V".
Shade 4 - A cool-toned taupe with a gorgeous champagne sheen. My *favorite* of the bunch. It's. So. Pretty. Looking at it straight-on you'll pick up the cool, almost silvery, taupe color but, when the light hits it....oooh girl! Unfortunately, this one had the poorest texture out of them all. It definitely needs to go over a shadow base or a primer and packing or patting it on is better than trying to sweep it on. It's so worth it though!
Shade 5 - A light peach/rose gold shimmer. Again....gore-juss! The texture doesn't measure up to the 3 mattes. It's not terrible though and can be worked with the same as Shade 4. The little bit of work it takes is worth it. Just make sure you use some kind of base or primer and pack this sucker on.
Shade 6 - A deep charcoal/pewter with multicolor micro-glitters. So pretty for the holidays! Patting this on over a sticky base/primer is key to getting the glitters to stick. I love this because so many "glittery" shadows are all chunky and gross and the glitter *never* stays....it always ends up all over your face, not a good look....unless you're a stripper. *ahem* MOVING ON! This shade along with Shade 3 will take your daytime/office looks and turn them into really gorgeous nighttime looks!
The eyeliner and mascara - Honestly....nothing super special here. They do their jobs though and are handy to throw in your purse for quick touch-ups. I won't go into any crazy detail here. They're pretty basic. The eyeliner actually applied smoother than I anticipated and would make a nice sticky base for those black shadows. The mascara was decent too. I was able to build it to about 3 coats before it started to look wonky and gross. Two coats gave me a nice, natural look. Also, a quick note....they are NOT water or smudge-proof! So if you're not planning on going water-skiing or crying a whole lot...these will work just fine.
Last but, not least:
Hard Candy Glam Kit eyeshadow palette
Price: $4.88
Where: Walmart
What's Inside: a super portable palette of 24 shimmery shadows
I spotted this one at Walmart in their "seasonal" aisle. You know the one....always packed full of crap you think you don't need until you actually walk down it. I almost missed these because they're really small and compact and they were shoved in between some awful-smelling men's body spray and a hot cocoa sampler.....not the best product placement, eh? Anway...I picked up the gold one but, there were several other color configurations, all in a different colored little book style compacts. I chose this one because of the rose gold and coppery colors....they're my faves of the moment.
I honestly haven't tried much from the Hard Candy line so, I don't have much to compare this to, quality-wise. They're on my list of brands to try. The hubs told me I'd probably regret buying this since it was so cheap and I knew he was probably right but, I threw caution to the wind and spent the whole $5 to give it a whirl.
The entire compact is pretty small....for size comparison, it's slightly larger than my Samsung Galaxy Note II. Which makes this ideal for a stocking stuffer or to toss in a makeup bag for travel. One thing to note though: these are *all* super shimmery....not a single matte or satin in the bunch. So if that's not your thang....you may want to skip this one. Unless the person you're buying for likes the shimma shimma...then they'll probably really enjoy it.
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So as you can see, in the package....those colors!! Gah! So pretty. I really hoped they wouldn't disappoint. And honestly....for the price, my hopes weren't super high so as long as they had *some* color payoff, I would be happy. They were all pretty soft, definitely had a moderate amount of fallout. Nothing terrible though. I've had *way* more expensive shadows perform worse than these.
My apologies for not swatching *all* of them. I'm not that patient. So instead, I picked a few of the shades that really stood out to me. As you can see....the top row of really pale shades....don't have the *best* pigmentation but, they're usable for sure. The first three were actually pretty nice! The last one, the silver, was very patchy even over a primer. The second row...can we just talk about that green for a second? It was *very* vibrant!! I was pleasantly surprised by that one. The copper and the metallic taupe were good performers as well. The last row, the deepest shades, were also surprising!
I think this would make a great gift for a teen just starting out with makeup. The colors are fun and vibrant but, there are also some more subdued colors. It'll fit nicely in a purse or travel bag too, making it a great gift for a girl who's always on the go. To make a complete gift out of this one, pick up a small palette (or a few single shadows) of soft mattes, a black or brown eyeliner, a mascara and a lipgloss or lipstick..... TA-DA! Complete gift for about $10-15! Can't go wrong with that. Not when there are several very affordable, good quality brands out there these days!
So.....for those of you still looking for that last little something to tuck in a stocking, or if you just got slammed with a Secret Santa thingy.....I hope this helped!
do my eyes deceive me, or is that blueish color in the WnW palette a duochrome?
ReplyDeleteIts more of a taupe-y champagne but, I would say that it is slightly duochrome. Its really pretty!
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