Linggo, Agosto 4, 2013

Wet n Wild Fergie Perfect Pout Lipstick Collection...Review, Swatches and Photos.

Listen up Wet n Wild lipstick lovers!!! Here is a new lipstick collection from Wet n Wild that you will surely love. Wet n Wild recently released the Fergie Centerstage Collection at Walgreens. This collaboration is so exciting. I love Wet n Wild and I'm a huge Fergie fan. I'm so happy they chose Fergie to be their Global Beauty Ambassador.

In the collection are new eye shadow palettes, highlighters/bronzers, eye primer, gel liners, mascara and lipsticks. The Fergie Centerstage Collection Perfect Pout lip colors were the first ones I played with. They are just to die for. The colors are gorgeous with "Fergalicious" names that are fun and cool. They are very similar to the Mega Last lip colors at first glance, but they are completely different. Read on for my review.

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"F" on the cap for Fffff..Fergalicious...Fergie!

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It's bigger than the Mega Last and Mega Shield.


TEXTURE and FINISH
These lipsticks apply like a dream. The new non-drying and creamy formula is so impressive. In comparison to the Mega Last, they are much creamier and smoother in texture, almost like a lip balm. They have a glossy finish with the exception of D-Vinely Chilled (frosty finish) and are quite sheer and translucent. One application will give you a wash of color. It takes about 2-3 application for the color to completely show. I don't mind at all because I love how they feel on my lips.

PACKAGING
I'm not too keen on the packaging. The bullet look nice and sleek, but they are very similar to the Mega Last where the product doesn't retract all the way down. You have to be careful when taking on and off the cap or else you will nick the product.

LONGEVITY
Since they are creamy, they don't last very long. I've tested all the lipsticks and I find the lighter colors fade faster than the darker ones. They last about 2-3 hours. The dark lipsticks leaves a stain on my lips after awhile of eating and drinking. I like it! I don't feel the need to reapply.

PRICE
Just like the rest of the Wet n Wild collection, these are very affordable. They retail for $2.99 and are available at your local Walgreens drugstore.



Photos and Swatches

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A033 Fergie Daily is a pale nude color, very similar to Mega Last lip color in Pink Suga. I can totally see Fergie in this color. It's a great nude color pair with dark smoky eyes. It's a bit too pale against my medium/tan skin tone but a little pink gloss will give it some dimension.

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A034 Bebot Love. This is my absolute favorite from the collection. I love the color and name. It's the perfect natural nude color for my medium/tan skin tone. Great for everyday wear and will match any eye look. And just so you know, the word Bebot is a slang that means babe in Tagalog/Filipino. 

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A035 V.I. Pink is a soft candy pink color. It has a slight frosty sheen to it but still glossy. It's such a fun color to pair with green eye or neutral eye makeup.

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A036 Penthouse Sweet is a medium cool pink color. It looks bright and quite scary in the tube, but it's actually soft on the lips. It's a wearable pink that is safe to wear everyday.

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A037 Old School Glam is a red with pink undertone color. It appears to be red in the tube but you can see a little pink on my lips. It's also one of my favorites because it compliments my medium/tan skin tone very well.

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A038 Saraghina is a true cool red color. It's luscious, rich and very classy. Great paired with neutral or cat eyes. 

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A039 Fuchsianista is a bright fuchsia with bluish-purple sheen (duochrome). I'm glad it's visible in the photo and swatch. It's such a gorgeous color. It's a nice color to wear during the Holidays.

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 A040 D-Vinely Chilled is a frosty burgundy/plum color. I usually don't like frosty lipsticks but this one is a pretty color and looks great on my medium/tan skin tone. This would be a great color to wear during the Holidays too.

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A041 Ferguson Crest Cabernet looks deep red wine on the tube just like the name, but it appears to be more of a berry color on my lips. 

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A042 Pagan Angel is a black color. It appears to be translucent black on the swatch and brownish on my lips.  It's my least favorite in the collection. I'm surprised to see it in the collection because I have no idea when I can wear it besides Halloween. But I'm sure Fergie can rock it better than I do!




OVERALL THOUGHTS
Overall, these are awesome lipsticks and I highly recommend it to everyone. The quality, texture and finish totally makes up for the packaging. They are super smooth, glossy and non drying. You will surely love them.



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Stay tune for more of the Wet n Wild Fergie Centerstage Collection
Review: Flower by Drew Barrymore Raise Some 
Brows Defining Brow Pencils
I'm in permanent panic-mode when it comes to my eyebrow pencil. I live in fear that my beloved Holy Grail eyebrow pencil, Maybelline Define-A-Brow in Dark Blonde, is going to be discontinued (some shades in this line were discontinued last year but, knock on wood, Dark Blonde hasn't been...yet). 

So when I noticed that the new brand, Flower by Drew Barrymore (available exclusively at Walmart, in-store on online), had a line of brow pencils, I ordered two shades from Walmart in the hopes that I might be able to find a new go-to product. Since I prefer automatic pencils for my brows, I was delighted to see that these are twist-ups! Let's see how they've been working for me...

Flower Raise Some Brows Defining Brow Pencils in Blonde and Light Brown
(retail: $5.98, 0.01 oz)

Before I get into this review, I want to point out something VERY cool about this brow pencil range. There are eight shades available, and three of those shades are for "unconventional" hair colors such as green, blue and purple! Check out all eight shades here. I've never seen brow pencils in purple, green or blue offered at the drugstore level before, so kudos to you, Flower!

Keep reading for my full review....


As with all of the Flower products I've reviewed to date, the packaging indicates that these products are made in the USA and not tested on animals.


All of the products that I've purchased (that come in plastic/cardboard packaging) have these cute little "Drew-isms" hidden beneath the product that you can only see once you've opened the package. They're like little beauty fortune cookies. A very cute touch!


These pencils comes with a sharpener that you access by pulling off the end of the pencil:


Blonde

 
Light Brown

Blonde (top)
Light Brown (bottom)

Looking at the swatches above, the first line was done using quick little brush strokes (I tried to replicate the look of application) and the second line is just a straight line.  

You can see that the shade Blonde has a lot of red to it. I would definitely suggest that you only purchase this shade if you have warm blonde hair or red hair--it is NOT going to work if you're an ashy blonde (like me).

As for Light Brown, it's definitely an ashy brown (no warm tones at all), but it's a bit dark for me personally. I have to use a very, very light touch to get this shade to work. Here's a pic of me wearing Light Brown:

Light Brown

I deliberately did not comb my brows after application because I wanted you to see something. This pencil is creamy, so what happens during application is that my brow hairs often get stuck together when I'm trying to get down between the hairs. I find that I have to apply, then stop, comb my brows, and apply some more. The problem is that I always end up removing the product when I comb through my brows too much, so it's sort of an endless loop.

Pigmentation: Both shades that I purchased have great pigmentation. I had no issues with getting the color to show up on my brows.

Texture and consistency: These brow pencils are very creamy. Due to my oily skin, I prefer a stiffer, drier, waxier pencil because it's been my experience that pencils that are stiffer and drier tend to last much longer on my oily skin. I also like the precision that a stiffer, waxier pencil allows you. When a brow pencil is too creamy, it feels like you lose control a bit, and that is what I experienced with these pencils. I have to use a very, very light touch and really focus when I'm apply this pencil to my brow. I think that if you're just looking for minor fill-ins, this probably won't be too much of an issue for you, but if you need to seriously "construct" your brows every day (like I do), then you might find these pencils a bit too high-maintenance due to their creamy nature.

Staying power: Due to their creamy nature, I start to see fading and a bit of smearing on my (very oily) skin at about the six hour mark. I can't get through an 8-9 hour work day and find my brows looking perfect. I definitely need to touch up in the afternoon, and keep in mind that I've been testing this product during the winter. I don't have high hopes for this product during the dead of summer, but if you have drier skin, your results may certainly differ from mine.

Fragrance: I detect no fragrance to these pencils.

FINAL VERDICT: If you favor a creamier brow pencil and you have normal-to-dry skin, these might work well for you. But if you favor a drier, waxier pencil I'm not sure you'll be happy with these. They're quite creamy and if you're heavy-handed with your brow pencils, you'll find that you really need to pull back the reigns and use a very, very light touch to get these to work. Also, if you have oily skin like I do, you might find that these pencils fade and smudge before the day is through. I personally couldn't get them to last longer than six hours before I saw major fading. As for the colors I purchased, Blonde is definitely for those with warm blonde or red hair, while Light Brown would be good for dark, ashy blondes or light ashy browns, since it has no warm undertones whatsoever. These were not a love-match for me, but I can see them possibly working for those with drier skin who are just looking for minor enhancements to their brows. If you need serious precision from your brow pencil, you might find these a bit too soft and creamy.

Review: NEW The Body Shop Strawberry Body Sorbet



Body sorbets are not a new invention, but when I saw the new Body Sorbet line on The Body Shop website a while back, I had to try one. There's something about gel-like body moisturizers and the word "sorbet" that I always find irresistible. I purchased this product during one of The Body Shop's free shipping events that I often post about here, and today I'd like to share my thoughts with you!

The Body Shop Strawberry Sorbet
With cold-pressed strawberry seed oil
(retail: $14, 6.75 oz)

NOTE: I purchased this product during the last free shipping event that was on 6/15 and at that time, the new Body Sorbets were a "member-exclusive" and only available for online purchase. When I checked the TBS site today, I noticed that this is now the reverse andthese are only available IN-STORE. Odd! Anyway, hopefully they'll be available in-store andonline eventually. 

The Body Shop Body Sorbets come in six different fragrances: Strawberry, Mango, Moringa, Pink Grapefruit and Satsuma. More info here.


Do not eat (more on that in a moment) or apply to face

made in the UK

ingredients

a better look at the right side of the list

While we're looking at the ingredients, I want to mention that The Body Shop specifically highlights the ingredient aloe vera on their website listing HERE. What I find interesting is that, if you look at the ingredients list above, aloe vera leaf juice is actually at the very bottom of the list, right before the colorants. In other words, there doesn't appear to be a whole lot of aloe vera here (which is actually OK with me because a lot of aloe vera makes lotions a bit too sticky for my liking).


Before I get into how this product has been working for me, I MUST discuss the fragrance:


This product smells so delicious (like strawberry candy!) that you might be tempted to taste it. Since that is NOT an option (see label warning), I present to you an alternative. The fragrance of The Body Shop Strawberry Sorbet is extremely similar to strawberry Hi-Chews. I like to imagine that if TBS turned this product into a candy, it would taste exactly like a strawberry Hi-Chew. They even share the same color! So yeah...if this body sorbet makes you hungry, eat a strawberry Hi-Chew and that should satisfy your cravings for creamy strawberry candy goodness.



The consistency of this product is similar to other sorbet-type body moisturizers on the market. It dispenses easily and it spreads very easily onto the skin. When you're spreading it onto your skin, it immediately starts to take on a powder-like feel, which I really like. It feels like a gel-powder hybrid as it starts to absorb. Another thing I like is that it absorbs very quickly--by the time you massage it onto your skin, it's pretty much absorbed.

Unlike other gel-type lotions I've used in the past, this one isn't quite as "wet" (again, it's like a gel that dries to a powder-like finish) and it's not as sticky as say, aloe vera gel. Don't get me wrong--there IS some stickiness here, which I think is just the nature of this type of product. For that reason, I do not like using this product on my hands, because I can really feel that slight stickiness on my hands. But on my arms, legs, etc., it doesn't actually feel too sticky at all, which is great. 

I've seen some people mention that this product has a cooling sensation, but I want to clarify that it's not the type of cooling sensation that you get with products that contain a bit of menthol--the cooling sensation here is caused by the very nature of the product itself, which is a gel. Gels tend to feel cool against the skin, and this one does. But if you want a morepronounced cooling sensation, you'll have to store this in the fridge.

The thing that most impressed me with this product is the level of moisturization it provides. I never have luck with gels/sorbets when it comes to lasting hydration, but this one's different. When I apply it to my arms and legs in the morning, my skin still feels quite soft by nighttime. I'm actually quite shocked by the lasting power of this sorbet, because most of the other products I've used like this tend to disappear just a few hours after application. Don't get me wrong--this isn't going to deliver the same type of moisture/hydration as a body butter or cream, but it's definitely impressive for a sorbet.

FINAL VERDICT: If you're a sucker for body sorbets and you like fun, fruity scents, I think you might be pleasantly surprised by this one. I think it would also be great for those who like to quickly apply their body lotions and don't like to wait for them to absorb. Yes, this sorbet does leave a slightly sticky residue on the skin (most sorbets do), but it's not nearly as sticky as others I have tried, and after a few hours I really cannot detect that stickiness on my arms and legs. I absolutely love the scent of this product (sweet, creamy strawberry candy) and the moisturization is impressive, especially for a product of this nature. The next time you're at The Body Shop, I think this line is definitely worth checking out (especially if it's on sale)!