SST Cosmetics is a a brand that I’d never heard of before they reached out to me to try their products. Based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (woohoo Canada!), SST Cosmetics was created by Sharon Sharpe-Titus (SST) who “created a sophisticated, high fashion line with a focus on quality ingredients free of harsh chemicals that brings together exceptional colours and elegant textures to help you put your best face forward. SST is a cosmetic brand that has a conscience for the integrity of the skin.”

I was sent a lipgloss and an eyeshadow duo from their Spring 2015 line to try out. I have mixed thoughts on the products, so let’s get into the review!

Let’s start off with the good! This is their High Shine Lip Polish in Vital. It’s a medium pink (although their web site says soft plum…) that is “infused with Jojoba seed oil, Vitamin E for moisture and Sweet Almond Oil for firmer lips”. This smells almost bang on like a MAC lipglass, although it’s not as sticky, and the scent does dissipate after a while.

Vital is the kind of shade that suits just about everyone and it’s quickly become a shade that I grab for when I have no idea what kind of lip colour to use to match my eye makeup (I use Bite Beauty’s Fig or MAC’s Brave, in the same way).

Vital sits on my lips beautifully and is easy to apply. There’s no lip gloss strings when I open my mouth and there’s no risk of this gloss bleeding outside my lip lines either. This lip gloss is a total thumbs up!

The second product I received to try out is the eyeshadow duo Meek. It comes with a shimmery champagne and a matte cream. It has quite pale shade in it – ones that are conducive with a lid colour or highlighting. Their web site indicates that the shadows are made from: “Simple ingredients, [with] lasting results. Our Combo shadow gives you the best of both worlds, a matte or a shimmer in soft highlighting shades.”

They’re both fairly safe (aka neutral) colours, and can be conveniently be used as all over lid colours or the cream shade can be used to highlight my browbone. The shimmery shade is too dark for me to use as a highlighting shade.

Which is exactly what I did in the shot above! The outer corner shade was not part of the duo – I brought in an additional eyeshadow to give my makeup some depth.

Unfortunately, there’s something about this eyeshadow formula that is so powdery that it just ended up crumbling on me in the pan. I first noticed it when I dipped my brush into the product and the layers underneath the top layer seemed to move around. When I snapped the lid shut a few times, the deal was sealed and the powder started to flake and crack. The entire champagne side of the product completely broke away. Considering this is a 26 dollar eyeshadow, I think that’s ridiculous. I have five dollar eyeshadows (hello Makeup Geek!) that do not behave like this.

Final Verdict

The high shine lip polish was the total winner for me out of these two products. I love the shade, I love the texture and I love the feel of it. The eyeshadow duo, on the other hand, is a total pass. The price tag is too high for an item that basically fell apart on first contact.

SST Cosmetics can be purchased at several salons in the Western provinces of Canada. They can also be purchased via their web site at www.sstsignatureseries.com.

The products featured in this post were provided for consideration.