Rimmel London Apocalips are here...?

So a while back I reviewed the Rimmel London Apocalips lip lacquer that I picked up while I was studying in England - well just the other day, I spotted these babies in CVS, except something seemed a little different...

Looks like these have been renamed from Apocalips to Show Off for the US market! The shades are all the same and I'm sure the formula is exactly the same as well, but I think it's interesting that the changed the name...I personally loved 'Apocalips' as the name! Regardless, the product is seriously awesome, so if you find these at a drugstore near you, they'll make a great stocking-stuffer!

XOXO, Ally

Maybelline Baby Lips Electro - Swatches

I walked into Walmart the other day, and there it was - a huge display housing all of these beauties. I was able to grab one in each of the six shades, and for under $3 each as well!

The packaging on these is too cute - I love the black tube with the neon writing. I think they could easily fit in with the rest of your Baby Lips collection as well, but they look especially nice all on their own.

For a tinted lip balm, I feel like these have a pretty decent color payoff. You're not gonna get full, lipstick-style color coverage with these guys, but you will get a noticeable hint of color and I really think that's perfect for when you don't want to look too done-up or you just want to swipe something quick on the lips. It doesn't take much precision to apply since the pigmentation is so sheer, so these are really nice for on-the-go use. If regular lipstick can get dry and uncomfortable on you, tinted lip balms are probably perfect for you!

In terms of the actual moisturizing effect, I find that these are no better than any other lip balm, really - but I would gladly choose these Baby Lips over a normal lip balm when I'm running out the door and want some extra lip moisturization, simply because of the pretty tinted effect. These do not contain any SPF, however, so beware if you're going to be spending lots of time outside!

I think tinted lip balms are a fantastic product in general - they look nice on the lips, are easy to apply, and feel wonderful while you're wearing them. So far, these new Electro Baby Lips have definitely been a hit for me - a perfect combination of beautiful packing, a super-cool theme, and a product that works great!

XOXO, Ally

Rimmel London Apocalips - review and swatches

I almost missed these suckers on the way out of Superdrug, and what a tragedy that would be!

I believe these aren't out in the states yet, but lucky for me, I was able to snag them while abroad in the UK! And trust me, I am definitely glad that I did. These are described as "lip lacquers" by Rimmel and combine the pigment of a lipstick with the shine of a lip gloss - or at least, that's what Rimmel claims.

Do they live up to the hype?

The swatches say yes! The two shades that I picked up are Luna, a bright pinky-peach shade, and Stellar, a neon red-pink that's much brighter than it appears in the swatch! I only need a little dab to cover my whole lips, similar to the OCC Lip Tars. They're actually so pigmented that it can be hard to apply them using the wand - I normally dab a little onto my lips and then use my fingers or a lip brush to fill in my lips. Because these stay glossy instead of drying down like a matte lip product would, they don't feel drying on my lips, and the color lasts for several hours on me before I have to reapply. And they smell amazing - like watermelon Jolly Ranchers!

Here's a swatch of Stellar on my lips - it's gonna be a fabulous color for summer! The one negative that I've found about these products is that they may settle into your lip lines, so be sure to moisturize with lip balm before applying!

Rating: 4.5/5 - these are a fantastic product and I'm already itching to go back out and buy more colors!

XOXO,

Ally

(Yet Another) Superdrug Haul!

I stopped by Superdrug this afternoon for some retail therapy, and I definitely got what I was looking for!

First off, something that I have been DYING to purchase - Sleek eyeshadow palettes! The two that I have here are in Oh So Special, which has some gorgeous neutral shades as well as some peachy, coral pink shades, and Au Naturel, which is obviously a neutral palette. I haven't played with them yet, but I can't wait to swatch them for you guys!

I also got two Sleek blushes, in Rose Gold and Life's a Peach. I plan on reviewing these two once I test them out so I'll put up some swatches and close-up shots of the shades when I do that!

Really excited about this too - I had heard about the new Rimmel Apocalips lip products, and I was pumped to see that they had them in! I got the shades Stellar and Luna, and I plan on reviewing these ASAP! I also got the Rimmel Scandleyes Mascara for FREE since I spent over £10 on Rimmel products....score!

Superdrug was also doing a buy one, get one 1/2 off on their makeup brushes, and the Barry M brushes just looked too cute and colorful not to try out! I've never tried the Barry M brushes before, so I'm excited to see if they work as well as they look! I picked out an eyeshadow brush and a concealer brush, although I may just use the concealer brush for eyeshadow as well, since it looks like it would pack color on quite nicely.

That's all for now - next up, a review of those Apocalips! I'm wearing one right now, and I can't wait to let you guys know my thoughts on it!

XOXO,

Ally

3 for 2 Haul - new MUA Makeup Academy face products

Hiya loves! Yeah, I'm getting used to the British lingo here, and I figured I should use some in this British makeup brand haul. MUA is a super affordable drugstore brand that can be found at Superdrug stores in the UK and online for people in other countries. Their products range all the way from £1 to around £6, which reminds me a lot of the e.l.f. brand in the US. Anyway, since my trusty Revlon Colorstay Whipped Creme foundation is almost out and I couldn't find it in stores, I decided that I'd give a new foundation brand a try. And the newest range of MUA face products had a buy 2, get one free deal, so my choice was pretty obvious!

The three products that I picked up were the Undress Your Skin Illuminating Foundation in the shade Beige (which is the middle shade, since it's almost spring and I'll be getting tanner), the Matte Perfect Primer, and the Radiant Under Eye Concealer. I believe the foundation was £5 and the primer was £4...I forget the price of the concealer but it was definitely less than £4. So far, I've only tried out the concealer, and I do like it, but it has some downsides that may not appeal to everyone.

After applying it under the eyes and setting it with powder, the concealer felt very secure and crease-resistant, which is a definite plus. But I felt like it made my pores look larger (which is not an issue for me around my eyes, but if you want your skin to look smoother in that area this might not be the product for you), and this may be due to the fact that there are tiny shimmery particles in this concealer. Now, since I'm only using this product under the eyes and not all over my face, I don't mind the shimmer so much. But if you are looking for something completely matte, this product won't work for you. I'm a little worried that the foundation will have shimmer as well, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to test that...

 Here's a picture of me wearing the concealer under my eyes - as you can see the shimmer isn't very apparent at all, however when I test it in natural light that might change. Hopefully I like the other two products as well when I test them out!

XOXO (and cheers), 
Ally

Superdrug quickie haul!

England is amazing, and one of my favorite things about being here is Superdrug. I can finally check out all those amazing makeup brands that I've heard about online but was never able to buy over in the states...starting with Barry M!

I was in the mood to paint my nails, so I picked up three really pretty nail paints by Barry M...the one in the middle is called Teal and it applies beautifully after two coats! The other two are called Peach Melba and Mint Green, and they're gorgeous colors, but I had to apply three really thick coats to get the color to be opaque. 

I also picked this up totally randomly...it's a limited edition champagne-flavored Vaseline lip balm. It was around $4 (converting from pounds to USD) which I think is a little pricey, so this is definitely a splurge item. But I've been using it a lot and it tastes really awesome, and my lips feel great!

Hugs and kisses from England!

XOXO, Ally

Travel Europe with me!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share some exciting news with you - in two days I leave to study abroad in Bath, England for a few months! I'm really excited, and I set up a second blog to share all of my experiences with the world!

Check it out by clicking on the banner below!

XOXO,
Ally

CoverGirl Liquiline Blast Eyeliner - Violet Voltage Swatches

Hey guys! Today I have a quick swatch of the CoverGirl Liquiline Blast Eyeliner in Violet Voltage!

This eyeliner pencil promises "liquid-like intensity" from a pencil liner, and comes with a smudger tip on one end.

In the second picture, I used the smudger tip to smudge out the end of the line. Personally, I found the tip to be a little too stiff, and I could see it being a little harsh to use on the eyes. I also felt like when I smudged the liner, it lost a lot of its intensity. I don't normally use the smudgey tips on liners, but I wanted to at least see how it would perform in a swatch for you guys. I like the color of this liner and when I swatched it, it was definitely pigmented and creamy. I don't know if I would call it "liquid-like intensity," but the color payoff was still good.

Until next time!

XOXO,
Ally

My last haul of 2012!

Dude, it's 2013 already! I seriously can't believe how 2012 flew by...it feels like just yesterday that I was getting 2011 and 2012 confused, and now we have 2013 to throw into the mix!

I wanted to share my last haul of 2012 with you guys - I picked up some things from CVS before visiting some friends for New Years, mostly travel-sized stuff and some CoverGirl products because I had a coupon.

CVS cleansing and makeup removing wipes (travel size, pack of 5) - these worked really well! I love using makeup removing wipes especially for traveling, but I didn't have any at the time so I figured a tiny pack would be perfect for me!

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion - I don't know if this is technically a face moisturizer, but it was the only travel sized lotion that they had...it was definitely too thick for my face, so I'm guessing it's more of a body cream. It was nice, just not for my face.

CoverGirl Liquiline Blast in Violet Voltage - I haven't tried this out yet, but I have swatches coming up!

An exciting toothbrush case in red. Functional and necessary.

CoverGirl LashBlast Clump Crusher Mascara - I haven't tried this either, but I love LashBlast so I have high hopes for this mascara!

And that's all! I hope everyone had a great New Years and I wish you all a happy and healthy 2013!

XOXO, Ally

Wet 'n' Wild Shimmer the Night Away (Holiday Limited Edition) - Review & Swatches

Wet 'n' Wild has stolen my heart with their incredible eyeshadows and super low prices, and they're always at the top of my list when I'm checking out drugstores. So of course, I was going out of my way to search for these limited edition holiday palettes when I first heard about them online. The collection is called Where's the Party? and features three palettes: Drinking a Glass of Shine, which is a re-release of the I <3 Matte palette, Sparkle 'til Morning, which is mostly neutral shades with a pop of blue, and Shimmer the Night Away, the one that I picked up, which is blacks and silvers along with purple and blue shades. Shimmer the Night Away seems similar to Petal Pusher, but the two are definitely not identical. Shimmer the Night Away had more black, silver, and blue shades, while Petal Pusher has more light purples and pinks in it.

Each shade in this palette is marked with the area of the eye that it should be used in - each side contains a browbone, lid, crease, and definer color. Of course, this doesn't mean that you have to use these colors in the way that they specify, but if you're just starting out with makeup it may help you learn where to apply certain shades.

The left side of the palette contains a shimmery white highlight shade, a silver lid shade, a shimmery black color for the crease, and a black shadow with glitter for the definer shade. All four of these colors swatched really vibrantly on bare skin, and were super pigmented. The two blacks were rather similar so I don't quite understand why they both needed to be included in here; the crease shade is a little lighter and more shimmery than the definer shade, but I would have liked to see a gray or another type of color instead of two blacks.

On the right side, the highlighter shade is a light dusty pink color, the lid shade is a gorgeous magenta with purple shimmer, the crease color is a lilac shade with a slight shimmer, and the definer shade is a really pretty rich blue shade. The highlighter shade seemed to be the least pigmented, although that might not be a problem if you're looking for a light browbone application. I really liked the bright pink/purple lid shade - it reminded me of MAC's Stars 'n' Rockets or Urban Decay's Fishnet.

I used a few of the shadows to do a smokey purple and blue eye look - the colors blend really well and last a long time, and were super smooth as well. I honestly didn't have an issue with any of the shades, and for only a few bucks at the drugstore, this palette (like most of the other Wet 'n' Wild eyeshadow palettes) is definitely worth a shot. Makeup beginners in particular may appreciate this palette because you're getting nice quality shadows for a bargain price.

If you like purples, blues, and smokey eye looks, this is a must-have! You can create an endless amount of looks from this one palette, or you could use the pigmented black shade to darken up any eye look, or the bright blue to add a pop of color to a more neutral look. This one was definitely a hit for Wet 'n' Wild!

Rating: 5/5

XOXO, Ally