I held off buying this palette because I really wasn’t sure I needed *another* palette. (And obviously, I really don’t!) So when the tarteGrav3yard Girl Swamp Queen palette went up on sephora.ca, I just avoided it until it sold out. But then it became available last week and I caved. I mean, I think the colours are gorgeous, and I do watch Bunny (aka Grav3yard Girl) on YouTube, so I justified it to myself that I was helping support a YouTuber that I already watch. (Makeup addicts… we’ll find any possible way to justify a purchase to ourselves, won’t we??)
tarte Grav3yard Girl Swamp Queen palette
While I haven’t used the palette on my eyes yet, there’s a few things that REALLY stuck out to me while I was swatching this:
This palette smells like fake vanilla. This is totally unlike any other tarte palette I own which traditionally had a kind of stinky/earthy scent which I can only presume was from the amazonian clay.
There’s a LOT of glitter particles in some of these shades and they are CHUNKY. I have no idea how they’ll play out on the lids, but I do expect to see glitter fallout at some point or another because even while swatching some of the glitter particles were swept away from my arm.
The tarteGrav3yard Girl Swamp Queen palette can be purchased on sephora.ca for $59 CAD, annnnnnd… I was going to say it’s also on sephora.com but I can’t actually seem to find it there. Hmmmm. :/ This is limited edition, so get it while you can. (It’s also available in stores!)
Shampoo and conditioner aren’t the most exciting products in the world to talk about, but sometimes it’s nice to find a product that works, and works well for you, you know? I often run into shampoos and conditioners that weigh my hair down, some that even go so far as to make my locks greasy, which is just an all around no-no as far as I’m concerned!
HASK Mint Almond Oil Shampoo and Conditioner
Thankfully, the HASKMint Almond Oil thickening shampoo and conditioner are products that work for me, not against me! The Mint Almond Oil line is intended to help create voluminous hair as the “omega fatty acids, vitamin E and magnesium, help increase body and volume while adding nourishing shine to hair.” These are also free of sulfates and parabens. Also, although it contains no alcohol, this smells vaguely like a mojito to me!
I’ve been using both the ‘poo and conditioner for the last month and while I can’t say I’ve noticed an increase in volume in my hair (because honestly, I’ve been wearing my hair up a lot because the heat has just been EXCESSIVE in Toronto), I also can’t complain when it has been helping my hair look like THIS:
Granted, that’s in conjunction with a salt spray, but this is air dried hair so you can see that this product is definitely not weighing me down!
HASK Mint Almond Oil – comes with your usual tab top
The bottles are slim and thankfully fit well into the curved nook on the edge of my tub (a problem for large sized bottles). And, to make things even better, this isn’t a brand that is going to break your wallet. I found them to be in the $6-8 CAD price range depending on where you buy it (so far I’ve been it available at Jean Coutu, Walmart and well.ca).
This was my first time trying HASK products out, so let me know if you’ve tried them and have any favourites!
The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.
I present to you… the entire Too Faced Melted Lipstick line up… swatched!
This video was one HECK of an endeavour. Little did I know that I’d have almost two hours of footage that I then had to whittle down to an acceptable time for a swatch video!
If videos aren’t your thing and you’d rather just see my face shots comparing all the lipsticks, look no further! None of these photos have been retouched in any way and you can zoom them in to full size to inspect every single one of my pores if you so desire. Enjoy!
If you’d like to see my preview posts with full reviews on the Melteds (before I managed to get my hands on the entire collection), you can check out the following links:
Needless to say… I’m more than a little bit obsessed with these melted lipsticks!
As for purchasing, it can be a little hit and miss with some of these shades. Some of them are sold on sephora.com, some are on ulta.com and some are on toofaced.com. It’s really kind of all over the place. Please note that Melted Rainbow is a Sephora VIB Rouge exclusive shade and can currently only be bought in the US (and I think online only too!).
So which ones are your favourite? For me, I’d have to go with Melon, Candy and Berry. I go back to those shades over and over again!
After having fallen in love with Charlotte Tilbury‘s Matte Revolution lipstick formula (see my review on Lost Cherry here), I was more than a little excited to see her expanding her lipstick range with her brand new Hot Lips.
Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips
Unlike I originally thought though, the new Hot Lips lineup has shades in both the Matte Revolution formula as well as her original K.I.S.S.I.N.G. formula. Of the shades I have, Kim K.W., is a cream and Miranda May is a matte.
Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Kim K.W. and Miranda May
Although the formulas are slightly different, the bullets are shaped like Charlotte’s matte lipsticks. They have a square cut bullet which is not only extremely appealing to my eye, but it’s also just as easy to apply to my lips as a traditionally cut bullet. Of course, as you wear the lipstick down, the shape of the bullet won’t matter.
Unique to the Hot Lips line is the etched kiss mark into the side of the bullet. It’s a small touch, but an appreciated one!
Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Kim K.W.
Kim K.W. is in Charlotte’s original K.I.S.S.I.N.G. lipstick formula which is a soft cream finish. This particular shade is an ode to Kim Kardashian-West and it’s “a vintage inspired pale pink nude makes lips look instantly fuller, and irresistible”. In some shots it looked like a very pale pink nude, but in others it looks almost yellow based. It was an odd shade to photograph and I wasn’t sure how it would look on me!
Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Kim K.W.
I feel like nude lips (much like mascara) varies so much between people that it can be hard to nail down an appealing shade that will work on a wide variety of people. But low and behold…
Wearing Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Kim K.W.
There’s something utterly perfect about Kim K.W. on my lips. I was blown away! The texture and feel of the lipstick is completely comfortable and it doesn’t disappear on my lips as some creams do.
Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Kim K.W. – up close
Kim K.W. definitely came out slightly pink on my warm undertones and I loooove the way it looks on me. There’s also a slight sheen to this formula so it looks and feels hydrating.
Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Miranda May
The next shade however… I knew I was going to love this one! This beauty is Miranda May and it’s a “fresh, pinky coral inspired by Miranda Kerr’s fresh faced beauty and the sunsets of Malibu and Bondi Beach”.
Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Miranda May
Pink-coral? Beach sunset inspired? This might as well be my shade in a tube as far as I’m concerned. The tube colour comes out slightly brighter than it does on the lips (not complaining, just saying).
Wearing Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Miranda May
I say this every time I wear, swatch or review a coral… I love it. I LOVE IT SO MUCH! This such a stunning colour and it just makes me so very happy to wear it.
Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Miranda May – up close
One thing worth noting, and I can’t think of anyone else mentioning this in other reviews I’ve seen, is that even though this is in the Matte Revolution formula (and it does feel consistent with the other matte I’ve tried in her line) this particular shade has very, very fine particles of gold glitter in it. I was actually a bit stunned when I put it on my lips the first time because I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. The particles are incredibly tiny, but they ARE there. You can see them a bit better in this swatch shot:
Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Kim K.W. and Miranda May – swatches
Final Thoughts
As you can see, the Kim K.W. and Miranda May Hot Lips lipsticks are at pretty different ends of the colour spectrum for lipsticks, but they both worked so, so well for me. I know the Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks can be a bit of a splurge item, but I’ve always been pleased with the formula of her products and these lipsticks are no exception. It’s also rather endearing that she’s named her lipsticks after celebrity women because it gives us a sense of intrigue with some of these items.
Additionally, $2 from each lipstick sold within the first two months of sales will be donated towards the Women For Women International charity. So buy a lipstick, and help out women worldwide – that’s a win in my book!
The Charlotte TilburyHot Lips can be purchased online at charlottetilbury.com for $38 CAD apiece, or $32 USD apiece. In Canada, Charlotte Tilbury can also be purchased at Holt Renfrew.
The products featured in this post were sent to by PR me for review.
