Review: Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Paints

Hello my loves! After having these for awhile now, I am finally getting around to reviewing the Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Paints ($5.49, 9 shades available). I have four shades to review- Beige, Peachy Apricot, Berry Chrome, and Manganese Purple (I actually had a fifth shade but it seems to have disappeared-makeup hoarder problems!) Keep reading to find out if these are worth your time!

Rimmel’s website description:

“Scandalous colour impact!
It’s the end of dull, subtle colour with this multi-dimensional cream shadow formula
Spatula applicator delivers high intensity coverage in one simple stroke
Waterproof & crease-proof with 8-hour wear”

Swatches

Top: One swipe Bottom: Lightly blended out L to R: Beige, Peachy Apricot, Berry Chrome, Manganese Purple

My Thoughts

Packaging: These come in a tube and have a typical doe foot applicator.

Texture/Formula: The formula is neither thick or thin, it seems to have a good liquid-y consistency. They become slightly tacky when dry.

Application: These apply very pigmented when swiped on my eyelids or when swatched, but they blend out to be much sheerer. I kind of wanted them to look as good on my lids as they did swatched. I usually do a couple swipes on my lids and blend it out with my finger, and it becomes a nice wash of color. It does set rather quickly so I need to work fast. At most I do 2 layers, letting it dry in between. I feel like building it up to look as intense and metallic as the swatches results in a caked up mess. So for me, these can either be used as a subtle wash of color or as a base for other eyeshadows.

Wear: These wear for about 8 hours and they do fade slightly throughout the day. I noticed some minor creasing by the end of the day.

Overall

I’m kind of eh about these. I feel like I expected the shades to appear more intense on my eyes than they actually do. Blending them out takes away that nice metallic sheen, and if I do try to layer it on to get the full intensity color, it starts to cake and crease. So unless you are looking for a quick wash of color or are interested in using them as eyeshadow bases, I would pass. I’m wondering if these might be discontinued since I picked them up on clearance at Ulta and they aren’t on Ulta’s website anymore.

Pros: Affordable, nice color range, quick application, easy to use

Cons: Lose their intensity when blended, so-so wear time

Have you guys tried these? What were your thoughts? Honestly, I don’t find myself reaching for these much. If I want a quick eyeshadow look I would much rather use a cream eyeshadow stick or a Maybelline Color Tattoo.

Review: Milani Moisture Matte Lipsticks Review

Hello my loves! Today I’m going to share with you my thoughts on some of the Milani Moisture Matte lipsticks ($5.99). I got the shades Matte Innocence, Matte Blissful, and Matte Passion (there are 8 shades available). Keep reading for my thoughts on them!

Milani website description:

“Meet your matte. Your fantasy matte. The matte that not only feels great (yes, you read that right – it’s actually comfy) but also lasts for hours and has “a-mazing Instagram selfie” written all over it. Infused with grape seed extract imported from Italy, this smear-proof lip soother delivers mega color that won’t budge, even after a close encounter with a cappuccino cup. In eight luxe, go-the-distance shades, from the oh-so-sweet, pale pink Matte Innocence to the va va voom, fiery-red Matte Passion. This matte? So major.”

Swatches

Shades: Matte Innocence is a light nude color with a bit of peach/pink  in it, Matte Blissful is a medium pink with a purple tone, and Matte Passion is an orange-based red.

Pigmentation: Matte Blissful and Matte Passion are very pigmented, while Matte Innocence is disappointingly sheer.

Application: These lipsticks apply easily out of the tube-no dragging whatsoever as they are actually quite creamy. The only shade I have an issue with is Matte Innocence-it doesn’t build up very well and starts to look cakey on my lips.

Texture: For these being matte lipsticks, they are very creamy and non-drying. They feel really smooth and lightweight on my lips. The texture reminds me a little bit of the Maybelline Matte lipsticks, but I think these are even creamier than the Maybelline ones.

Wear: These wear around 4-5 hours on me, with the exception of Matte Innocence which fades more quickly. The lipsticks do transfer, and they don’t dry down completely on my lips so I’m able to move the lipstick a little bit when I press my lips together. I feel like they are more comfortable on my lips because they don’t totally set on my lips, but it also makes them easier to wear off. Matte Passion does stain my lips.

Final Thoughts

Pros: Affordable, good color selection (unique shades), pigmented, comfortable to wear

Cons: Not transfer-proof, Matte Innocence was very sheer and hard to build up

Overall, I think these are great lipsticks. The cons I mentioned are not deal breakers for me at all. I will say that I don’t recommend Matte Innocence, since it doesn’t have the same pigmentation as Matte Blissful and Matte Passion. I love these two shades, and I feel like they are unique colors in my collection. I don’t own MAC Lady Danger but from pictures and swatches that I’ve seen of it, I think it could be similar to Matte Passion.

Have you tried these lipsticks before? What are your favorites shades? I’m eyeing the purple shade Matte Glam next. If you haven’t tried these yet, what is your favorite affordable lipstick brand?

Thank you so much for reading! Have a fantastic weekend!

❤ Sandy

Review: NYX Highlight & Contour Pro Palette

Hi everyone! I got swept into the contouring craze and bought this NYX highlight and contour palette ($24.99) at Ulta. I’ve been testing it for a few weeks, keep reading for my thoughts on it!

NYX’s Website description:

• What it is: Professional palette with eight highlighting and contouring colors.

 

• What it does: Easily allows you to enhance features like cheekbones, nose and jawline.

 

• Why we love it: The removable and refillable pans are perfect for building your own customized pro palette.

 

• How to use: After putting on foundation, apply the deeper, contouring powders to any areas you would like to shade and define. Next apply one of the lighter highlighting colors to any areas you would like to emphasize.

Swatches

Packaging: Love the see through case! It looks fancy to me, and it’s pretty sturdy. You are able to remove each pan if you ever need to replace it. NYX’s website recently added the refillable pans to their website, and there are 12 shades to pick from ($5 each on NYX’s website).

Shades: The top row from left to right consists of a shimmery white/silver highlight, a pale matte cream shade, a pale matte yellow shade, and a shimmery light gold highlight. The white/silver highlight is more pigmented than the gold one, which is pretty subtle. The bottom row from left to right consists of a warm light brown shade (matte), a warm medium brown shade (sparkle in the pan but does not translate on skin), a cool taupe shade (matte), and a deep brown shade (matte).

Pigmentation & Texture: All of the shades are very pigmented, buttery, and finely milled. It takes very little of the contour/bronzer shades for it to show up well on my skin.

Application: All of the powders are easy to apply, but one thing I found with the contour shades is that they were slightly difficult to blend. I lightly touch my brush into them and apply the powder in the hollows of my cheeks for a contour, but it ends up looking harsh because I have a hard time blending it out to look natural. I have tried different brushes with the same problem. A harsh, unblended contour is definitely not a good look! Even when I use one of the lighter bronzer shades to warm up my face, it does not blend very well on me.

Wear: The powders last all day on me but do fade slightly throughout the day. I can still see the bronzer/contour shades on me at the end of a day though.

How I Use the Powders: I like to use either the matte cream shade or matte yellow shade to set my undereye concealer. I don’t notice any significant brightening effects with either of these, but maybe that’s just me. Since the powders are finely-milled and light-weight, they do not make my undereyes cakey or powdery looking. I tend to reach for the white/silver highlight more than the golden one since it’s more pigmented, and also it’s the only white/silver highlight shade I have like it in my collection. One slight letdown for me was the cool, taupey contour shade (3rd shade from the left). I thought it would be the perfect shade for contouring but it pulls a little warm on my skin, womp! Either way I’ll use that shade or the 4th one (sparingly since it’s so dark) for a contour. I’ll sometimes use the first bronzer/contour shade as an all over bronzer to warm up my face-it pulls a little more orange than I would like. I haven’t really used the second bronzer/contour shade.

Final Thoughts

Pros: 8 shades, refillable pans, pigmented, finely-milled, affordable compared to high-end contour palettes (each pan comes out to a little over $3 each)

Cons: Hard to blend bronzer/contour shades, bronzer/contour shades aren’t totally flattering for my skin tone personally

Overall, I do like the palette but wish the bronzer/contour shades were more blendable.

EDIT: I find that the key for using the contour shades is to use a stippling brush-I have a much easier blending out the darker shades this way.

What’s your favorite highlight/contour palette? Comment below! 🙂 Thank you so much for reading!