Category Archives: Reviews

Rimmel The Only 1 Matte Lipsticks (Review & Swatches)

April 24, 2017Makeup, Reviews, SwatchesRimmelChelle

Rimmel The Only 1 Matte Lipsticks

I’ve been a long time lover of Rimmel‘s liquid lipstick type formula (RIP Apocalips 🙁 ) as as well as their more recent Provocalips which are hands down the most comfortable liquid lipstick formula EVER… But WOW, I am getting off topic fast here, moving on! What I’m trying to get at is that while I’ve loved a lot of Rimmel lip products over the years, I’ve never actually tried one of their more traditional lipsticks. So this my first foray into them!

Rimmel makes a few versions of their “The Only 1” lipstick – this one with the red tube is their matte version. They call this formula “the perfect balance of high impact matte colour, moisture, all day comfort and staying power”, while also referring to it as a velvet matte.

Can I get a big HOORAY for the slanted bullet style lipstick? While I find it visually less appealing than the traditional bullet, this slanted style saves me the heartattack I experience when I break a lipstick (which literally happened to me to another lipstick while I was typing this review up over the weekend. Bah!). So a bit YAY to this bullet style!

Rimmel The Only 1 Matte Lipsticks swatches - Leader of the Pink, Salute, Keep It Coral, Trendsetter and Look Who's Talking — Rimmel The Only 1 Matte Lipsticks swatches – Leader of the Pink, Salute, Keep It Coral, Trendsetter and Look Who’s Talking

Looking at these swatches you’d never think that these were matte lipsticks. While they do glide on the lips fairly smoothly, I’d say the first swipe is actually a bit stiff. However, the product melts with the heat of your lips and any swipe after the first is infinitely smoother.

Rimmel The Only 1 Matte Lipstick – Lip Swatches

Wearing Look Who's Talking — Wearing Look Who’s Talking

My Thoughts

As a matte lipstick, the Rimmel The Only 1 Matte lipsticks do glide on the lips smoothly which I really appreciate. The texture is such that it will require a little bit of body heat to warm the product up, but it’s really good once you get going.

In terms of comfort, these aren’t the most comfortable matte lipsticks I’ve ever worn, but they are far, FAR from the worst I’ve ever tried. Consider this a decently comfortable matte lipstick. They are matte enough that I did experience the “butt hole lip” phenomenon, but it was easily smoothed out with a fingertip. For those sensitive to scent, these do contain the traditional Rimmel lipstick smell – it’s a fake perfumed, fruit scent that’s hard to pin point as to what EXACTLY the scent is. As someone who hates most scents in lipsticks, I have to point out that the Rimmel scent doesn’t actually bother me, but I know some people would want to know about it.

I think these are a solid drugstore matte lipstick option as the longevity is quite good and the colour selection is solid. Let me know if you’re tried these out and what you thought of them!

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.

Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow (Review & Swatches)

April 19, 2017Makeup, Reviews, SwatchesStilaChelle

Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow

Having been a lover of makeup since the age of 12, and a blogger for going on four years now, there are very few things left in makeup that will make me gasp out loud with delight. So when I find one of those products, you know it’s going to be a showstopper.

And the Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow is an absolutely jawdropping product.

I originally saw everyone raving about these on YouTube and I was kinda like “the hype is too real right now, I’ll just hold off on trying them”. Over the next few weeks (months?), I kind of forgot about them until I went to a PR event that was showcasing some of the new Stila launches and my interest was once again piqued. I asked for a few of the shades, and was kindly sent one to try out.

You guys… it was love at first swatch.

I have *never* felt or used another product like this before. It’s like a liquid eyeshadow with glitter particles suspended within the base. It is absolutely breathtaking. It’s even more beautiful than a straight up glitter because of the coloured base that really helps to amp up the colour of the sparkle. It’s like a molten metal with lens flares thrown in for good measure!

The applicator is your standard flat paddle-foot, and the stopper inside the bottle does a good job of removing excess product. You’re left with just the right amount of consistency for application on the eye. I originally thought I’d end up using a brush to apply this to my eye, so imagine my surprise when I tried the paddle applicator and it actually deposited the colour beautifully. You can even turn it on its side and get into the tiny crevices of the inner corner of your eye without causing a mess. Again… I was astonished.

Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow in Kitten Karma - swatch — Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow in Kitten Karma – swatch

Photograping this was an absolute bastard. There is SO MUCH glitter in the product that the autofocusing on my camera was having a field day (I was doing this without a tripod so switching to manual focus wasn’t an option). So I’m giving you two shots of Kitten Karma to show you how this product looks. The left side is out of focus and shows you how the glitter pigments really explode with light on your skin. The right side is more in focus and shows the more copper/bronze base of the product with some of the chunks of glitter. Hopefully this will give you an idea of what the product looks like. Also… that’s one swipe – not layered!

Standard eye shot so you can see what it looks like mixed with some neutrals.

Wearing Kitten Karma on the lid - close up for texture — Wearing Kitten Karma on the lid – close up for texture

And a closer up shot so you can take a look at the texture of the product on my lids.

And of course, you can always mix them with some colour!

Final Thoughts

While this Kitten Karma shade was sent to me by PR, I have already purchased more because I am over the moon with this product. The application is unlike anything I’ve used before and I am head over heels for it!

I was also astounded at the lack of creasing with this product. On the day I wore it to work, I made the mistake of only wearing one eyeshadow primer (I normally wear two because one is never enough to stop even just regular eyeshadows from creasing on me) and I figured for sure this would be creased within an hour. That’s not at all what happened – by the end of the day I still had zero creasing on my lids and I was properly astonished. It is worth mentioning though that you will experience some fall out with the glitter flecks. Even Stila knows that and indicates that this product will provide “minimal fallout”. I’m not personally bothered by a few glitter flecks ending up on my cheeks (I think it looks quite pretty actually… like glitter freckles!), but I know some people cannot stand glitter fallout at all, so I figured it was worth mentioning.

So, in short, I think this is a wonderful product. If you want to try glitter but can’t be bothered with glitter glue, or sticky bases, or fussing with brushes… then this is the product for you. And if you’re someone who just freaking love glitter like I do? Then this is also the product for you!

The Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadows can be purchased on sephora.ca for $31 CAD or on sephora.com for $24 USD.

The product featured in this post was sent to me for consideration. Post may contain affiliate links.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Matte Lipsticks (Review & Swatches)

April 12, 2017Makeup, Reviews, SwatchesMake Up For EverChelle

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Matte

The liquid lipstick fad is never-ending and MAKE UP FOR EVER are dipping their toes into the fray with their Artist Liquid Matte Lipsticks!

And I do meaning “dipping their toes”! MUFE has released six shades of their Artist Liquid Matte formula and I hope it’s just a testing ground to see how consumers feel about the products because I would love to see some vibrant shades added into the mix. Currently, MUFE has six shades of neutrals – which, if you look at the tubes, you’d swear they were all near identical shades! (More on that later.)

The claims on the Artist Liquid Matte lipsticks are pretty lengthy (taken from Sephora):

Finally, a comfortable liquid lipstick with intense color in an ultra-matte finish. With concentrated pigments, Artist Liquid Matte provides truly matte, saturated color payoff with a lightweight feel. Its unique formula boasts beeswax for long-lasting wear and avocado oil for soft, nourished lips. It’s an ultra-matte, liquid lipstick with high color payoff and 20-hour, comfortable wear. Its precise applicator coats and defines every peak and valley of your lips to perfection.

As we’ve discussed before, I am not someone who is going to wear their lipstick for longer than 6 hours, so a 20 hour wear time is insane to me. (I have no idea how you people do it.) So while I can’t tell you how this will wear for practically a full day, I can tell you that I find this quite comfortable for 5-6 hours. Even me just saying that about a liquid lipstick is kind of wild – I struggle with liquid lipsticks and often want to rip them off my lips due to the dryness. That wasn’t the case with these!

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Matte swatches - 101 Cream Beige, 105 Rosewood and 109 Praline — MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Matte swatches – 101 Cream Beige, 105 Rosewood and 109 Praline

I mentioned earlier that a lot of the shades in the collection seem very, very similar in the tube – so much so that I thought swatch and face shots were going to be incredibly boring. That is not the case! The colours dry down a few shades darker than what they appear in the tube and there is definitely more variety amongst the shades than I had previously anticipated.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Matte Lip Swatches

Wearing MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Matte in 101 Cream Beige

Wearing MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Matte in 105 Rosewood

Wearing MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Matte in 109 Praline

My Thoughts

When I put the very first shade on my lips, I was astonished. Not only was the colour completely solid, but I could also rub my lips together. I don’t know if you’ve experienced this with other liquid lipstick formulas, but generally, you can’t rub your lips together for fear of the liquid lipstick balling up and/or generally feeling like sandpaper. With the MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Mattes I could do some light rubbing and it made wearing a matte liquid lipstick so much more relieving to me. Because of this, I felt like my lips were less dried out! However, with a little bit less of a dry factor, I did notice that I would lose a little bit of product on the inside rim of my mouth at a slightly faster rate than other liquid lipsticks. It wasn’t really bad though (just thought it was worth mentioning) and the product does layer well so I was able to re-apply on the center portion of my lip without issue.

In short, for me, as a non-liquid lipstick lover overall, the MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Mattes have been one of the most comfortable liquid lipstick formulas to wear. They are less drying than others which makes me feel less trapped in my makeup (please tell me I’m not the only one that can feel that at times!). I love the colours that I tried (Praline is especially gorgeous), but I really do hope they come out with more vibrant shades.

The MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Liquid Matte Lipsticks can be purchased on sephora.ca for $25 CAD each or on sephora.com for $20 USD each.

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration. Post may contain affiliate links.

VIDEO: Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24H Foundation – First Impressions & Time Trial

April 11, 2017Reviews, YouTubeLancômeChelle

Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops in Moonlight (Review & Swatches)

April 7, 2017Makeup, Reviews, SwatchesCover FXChelle

Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops in Moonlight

I’ve had this review sitting on the backburner since I took the product shots in January. Why? I don’t actually have a good reason for that other than that makeup never seems to cease being released and there’s always some other enormous launch out there to cover. And these Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops? They’ve been out for a while, so they’re kind old news, right?

But, I was recently reminded how epic these seemed to be when they were first released when I saw my friend Shawna of Spill the Beauty sporting the brand new Halo shade while we were at a beauty event. She looked amazing, and I was suddenly reminded of the fact that I had a sample size of their older Moonlight shade from a previous Sephora order.

I have a very mini, but generously portioned, size of the Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drop in Moonlight. It’s on the paler side of things in their range of shades. This is billed as “imparting a soft, silver glow”. Which you would NEVER KNOW from the colour selection item on the Sephora, or even by looking at the jar. I mean… we’re all agreed right? That looks rose gold? It’s not just me?

Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops in Moonlight - swatch — Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops in Moonlight – swatch

FAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! In swatches, Moonlight is flat out blinding. This is shockingly bright – almost electric really. Silver? Almost. I do see more of a rose gold shade on the edges of the product where it curves around my arm. That center portion though? Full on silver goodness.

Wearing Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops in Moonlight

Despite the shocking swatch, it actually goes on the cheeks surprisingly softly. I suppose by most people’s standards a reflective surface isn’t soft, but given what the swatch looks like in comparison, this looks REALLY soft.

So while it LOOKS soft in these photos, I think, but it’s not really IRL. And that’s not a negative either. It’s an aggressive, but beautiful highlighter. Its reflectiveness was far surpassing my beloved BECCA highlighters and for the first time in a long time I found myself wondering “is this TOO much highlighter?” (Real talk: no, it’s not!)

Yes, it’s aggressive. Yes, it’s “loud”. And yes, it’s completely and utterly beautiful. It has an ethereal quality to it – that “I’m a fairy!” look that I’ve been searching for in a lot of products for a very long time (I’m looking at you Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Ethereal! *spits*).

I think we know I love this product by now, so let’s just chat about how to actually use it. I only used this as a cheekbone highlighter as I’m not interested in mixing it with my foundation. I found I liked it best when used with a medium sized duo fiber brush. I used the dropper to apply it to the back of my hand and then dabbed my brush in it. Wiped it off quite a few times on the back of my hand, and then applied it to my cheekbones. It’s not the easiest product to blend either, so start with very little and then build as it’s pretty easy to get harsh lines. (Try your finger maybe? I hadn’t thought to do it until I typed this review out.)

Is this worth your money? Look, no one can answer that question for you (for ANY makeup product on the market – we all have our limits) – these highlighters are insanely expensive ($52 CAD/$42 USD) and even I’m balking at that price tag. But after having used Moonlight and loving how it looks, I am 100% buying Halo… when it’s on sale.

The Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops can be purchased on sephora.ca for $52 CAD and on sephora.com for $42 USD.