Avon Loot! Part II

I had lots of fun with my last venture into Avon, so picked up a few more items that peaked my curiosity. And while these don't quite measure up to my last loot, they're not so bad either.

My favorite items in this lot are the Seeing Stripes Cheek Colors. I got both the Warm and Cool Collection, and I didn't think each would come in such a giant pan - they're HUGE!!! Anyways, they're very pigmented and will probably last me a century. The only thing I find strange about them is while the Cool Collection is an array of cool pinks, the Warm Collection turns out to be a bronzer! When I saw these online, I thought, okay, computers don't always display accurate colors, but these turn out exactly as they're shown on screen! Not exactly what I was hoping for, but whatever.

- Warm Collection: bronzer, anyone?


- Cool Collection: pretty cool-toned pinks, mauves, and raspberries.


My biggest disappointment in the lot is the Luster Glow Lip Shine. I was intrigued with the packaging, actually, but after trying the product, I think the odd shape of the stick kind of makes sense. It feels like a lip balm that's too soft to be in a stick but too stiff to be in a pot. So instead it's in a weird chubby stick that makes it incredibly difficult to apply, precisely because it's too soft to be pushed up! I had to use my fingers.

Anyway, the texture is interesting, not waxy but is like a sticky jelly. It's moisturizing and lasts a decent a mount of time, but no shine. Hell, my Rosebud Perfume Strawberry Lip Balm gives me shinier lips than this "lip shine" and it's wax based! Oh yeah, and this lip shine has a sweet taste to it, which I just absolutely HATE!!! Why can't those cosmetic companies get this straight in their creative heads? If I wanted something sweet I'd pop a candy or chocolate in my mouth, not slathering my lips with lip balms! When I want to satisfy my sweet cravings the last thing I look at is my tube of chapstick, goddammit!

- Blood Orange: I like the scent, but the product is not quite there...


I have mixed feelings about these Roller Ball Lip Glosses. I know, how old am I, right? Whatever, may be I was nostalgic of my middle school days when I was looking at these :P They're okay, kind of glossy, kind of moisturizing, but too thin in texture to have good staying power. Again, they have a sweet taste, which bugs me.

- Mixed Berries: more strawberry than mixed berries, but holycrap - it smells and tastes exactly like the a roller ball gloss I had when I was in middle school!


- Melon: my least favorite flavor, too fake.


- Peach: kind of peachy, not really, but it's my favorite out of the three flavor wise, probably because the scent is lighter than the other two.


I also got the Roller Ball Eye Shadows :D I doubted these would work well, and I was right. The roller ball makes the shadow comes out patchy, so I just rub it on my finger to blend. The powder is decent, not as fine and soft as some of my other loose powder shadows, but it's not bad.

- Steel: matte, medium intensity, a charcoal gray that I'd probably use as a liner with a brush.




- Frost: metallic, very sheer, a sparkling cream color. I like this one infinitely better than the gray above, solely because it's translucent and not frosty or opaque, a good finishing shadow.




That's it...for now. I'll be keeping an eye on Avon so this won't be the end of it :D

See my previous Avon Loot! post.

Revlon! ...I've gone mad...

No, no, I haven't gone mad for Revlon. I've gone mad because I actually bought some Revlon!

I mean, what was I thinking? Revlon is utter crap! Hubby's mum was once loyal to this Revlon lipstick she'd worn for some 20+ years. And then when I started dating her son, I gave her a Lancome Le Rouge Absolu and she's never looked back since. And here I am buying Revlon. Shoot me. Now.

I first spotted these from a magazine. I don't remember if it was Allure or Elle, probably Allure. And then I saw several ads for them from some other magazine spreads. Blame the marketing, but I went out and bought a few, out of curiosity or whatnot. I guess sometimes stuff disappoint you in 3D, but these actually don't look so bad. I haven't tried any of them yet, so we'll have to see how they fare quality-wise later. For now, they're pretty to look at.

I got Golden Affair Sculpting Blush in 2 out of 4 shades available. And even though they're "limited edition," they're available still online even though they were out more than 2 years ago. They feel okay, not too silky but not rough to the touch either.
- Rose Rapture: A nudish tawny color and pigmented I'd say. The gold is sprayed on though. It would have been nice if it was actually embedded, but it's also Revlon, of course.


- Berry Daring: I don't what got over me when I bought this shade. It's a pretty deep berry color but it might be too harsh on me. And it's very pigmented too, so we'll see...Who knows, it might work out. If not... 9.9


I also got all 4 shades of the Floral Affair Sheer Powder Blush. The reviews say these are very sheer, but I think they're just right, not too sheer, not too pigmented like the Golden Affair Sculpting Blush. I like how these look in the pan. Very pretty. And I could also use them on my eyes :D Oh, and these are much softer than the Golden Affair blushes too.

- Peachy Keen: A bronzy peach with gold shimmers.


- Hushed Blush: I like this one the best because I can use the lightest shade as a highlighter too and it doesn't seem to be too pigmented.


- Honey Bunch: probably the most pigmented one out of the lot.


- Pinking of You: As you can see, this one is actually matte! And I usually don't like matte blushes, but it looks interesting and the pink is really bright and fresh. I'll have to try it out and see...


I also got 1 Make a Sheen Lustrous Shadow in Olive it Up. The other palettes didn't interest me at all but this one has the most beautiful olive and gold, both of which I love. Again, they feel average, not the most satiny eye shadow you've tried, but not crap either. Gotta see how they perform though, especially on my oily lids.

Clinique Full Potential Lips

Clinique's stab at plumping lip gloss, I guess. And good thing I got this Full Potential Lips in Cherry Bomb as a GWP because I would never buy it full size.

It's nothing special, to be honest. In fact, there are lots of room for improvement on this one. First off, the stuff's waaaaay too sticky, much worse than Stila Lip Glaze, can you believe that? It took me several re-dips just to get enough gloss on my lips because it was just too thick to spread. Second, I didn't like the tingling feeling as the gloss works to "plump" my lips either. It wasn't an icy good minty sensation, but rather a weird tingling that made me feel like the gloss's gone bad. So did it actually plump my lips? Kind of, not really. It worked a little on my lower lip, but no effect on my upper lip. So yeah, I had weird looking lips for a while until I got fed up and wiped it off. Oh, and the color too, it settled in patches because the gloss was too thick for the color to spread evenly. Urgh. Now that I think about it, I don't like this gloss at all!

To be fair though, there are couple of good things about this stuff:
- It doesn't stink. Unlike the other Clinique glosses, this surprisingly doesn't have that nasty chemical smell. In fact, it barely has any scent at all, which is interesting.
- It does make my lips very glossy, but so do TONS of other glosses, so I guess this doesn't count :P
- The color is nice, very subtle like Cherry Chapstick. Now, if it would spread evenly...

Clinique Colour Surge Bare Brilliance Lipstick

I'm in the mood for lipstick lately :D

These Clinique Colour Surge Bare Brilliance lipsticks are just right, not too pigmented but not too sheer. However, this also means they are thinner in consistency and not as creamy and moisturizing. Oh well, I wear them on top of base anyway, so it really doesn't matter. All pictures taken indoor with flash unless otherwise noted.

I have 3 Bare Brilliance lipsticks, one I bought and the other 2 are GWP:

- Pink Beach: a very pretty blush pink with hints of gold. When I first tried it on the back of my hand, it looked very subtle and muted. But then I put it on my lips and -bam!- it turned almost bubblegum pink with gold shimmers. What the hell? I still like the color a lot though :D

Clinique Long Last Soft Shine Lipstick

The Clinique Long Last Soft Shine supposed to have moderate coverage, but in my opinion the coverage is pretty inconsistent. Among my 3 lipsticks, Red Red Red is very pigmented with full coverage, Bamboo Pink is moderate, and Golden Coral is sheer, very much like a Bare Brilliance lipstick. And I actually bought 2 out of these 3, so that's pretty unusual for me because I'm so picky with lipsticks that I rarely buy one unless I absolutely love the shade! The majority of the time, the cosmetic companies would have to bribe me into trying their new lippies, which explains why most of the lipsticks I own are GWP. Mind you, the purchases were seldom lipsticks :P

All pictures taken indoor with flash unless otherwise noted.

- Red Red Red: I have already reviewed this beauty in this Red Lipsticks! post, so I'm not going to bore you again with my babblings.

Lancome Le Rouge Absolu Creme Lipsticks

I actually don't know the difference between Le Rouge Absolu Creme and Le Rouge Absolu, but they feel great on my lips. Very soft and creamy and extremely pigmented, at least Rosiere is.

I have 2 Le Rouge Absolu Creme, one I actually bought and the other is a GWP :D

Lancome Rouge Sensation Lipsticks

After going post-less for nearly 3 weeks, I'm easing back slowly. I've been so busy for the past couple of months that sitting down to write a blog entry is such a production that I ended up bumming out and surfed the web instead :P

Anyways, back to makeup :D

These Lancome Rouge Sensations are the first lipsticks I owned. Well, not specifically these colors I am reviewing, I can't imagine holding on to a lipstick for that long - eww, but the line. The Rouge Sensations are decent, I like the Rouge Absolu line better because they are softer and more moisturizing. The Rouge Sensations are best worn with some sort of base, which I always wear anyway. I started out wearing lipstick by themselves, but then the intensity of most colors was just too much for me so I usually tone them down with a base - chapstick, lip balm, clear gloss, whichever happens to be nearby.

I only have the Rouge Sensations in 2 colors, both are GWP as I already threw out the ones I actually bought because they were so old and I take forever to use up a tube of lipstick!

- Mandarin Velvet: My favorite lipstick color, actually. It's such a natural tawny red that I just dab it onto my lips (with lipstick base) and then I'll have naturally red lips! Super lazy, I know.