Buxom A Wink and a Kiss Lipstick and Mascara Set

Ah, I just love shopping Sephora online. Their website has so much more than any single store and there are usually so many onsale/clearance/discontinued items on there for grabs! The best part is Sephora's amazing return policy. I'm not worried about purchasing from them online because you can return anything you buy from them, used or not used, for pretty much any reason!

Of course, another great reason to love sephora.com is because with each online order you get the opportunity to use a promo code! I got this Buxom set for free through a promo code with my order!!! FREEEEEEE!!!!!!! *foams*

Ahem.

Anyways, so now you know when I start complaining about the products I'm an ungrateful b*tch =P.

Anyways, Item Numero Uno is Buxom's Big Healthy Lip Stick. It's basically a large twistable/retractable lip pencil. I feel that all lipstick products should follow this packaging, since the more defined/smaller tip allows for more precision during application, and also you never have to sharpen it! I hate sharpening makeup products, cause if you don't put them in the freezer for awhile before, they almost always break on me.

The color is a deep, rich red/burgundy. It has a bit of shimmer as you can see from the swatch above. The pigmentation is great and the product comes off smoothly and easily onto my lips/skin (as you can see by my awesome smiley). The product texture is akin to something between a creme lipstick and thick lip balm. However, it feels and sits very comfortable on lips, and doesn't have any thick/goopey/silicon-ey texture. It didn't feel drying at all and it was more like a protective layer on my lips than anything else. The staying power for this product isn't bad either, although not amazing considering its rich formula.

What else about it, hmm... There's also a pleasant minty tingling feeling that I assume is some kind of plumping effect. It tastes a bit like mint too though, and sometimes my tongue feels a bit tingly if I manage to swallow some (oops). Nothing terrible though.

All in all, I really like everything about this product and I'd totally buy more.. if only such a rich dark color looked nice on my pale face. But it doesn't.

sadface.

Um, anyways, there was also a mascara included in the set (Buxom Lash Mascara). It looked pretty promising but unfortunately the sample sized tube was a tad dried out so I had to rub it a lot just to get some product off (as you can probably see for yourself in the swatch above.) Here's a shot of its brush:

Too bad this mascara was dried up =( I couldn't try it out.

Kevyn Aucoin The Rouge Hommage lippie in Guilty

Hm... Kevyn Aucoin. I wasn't really familiar with his products but I nabbed a few on sale from Sephora awhile back and I have to say that they are of pretty high quality. I especially love the sexy yet minimalist look this brand goes for with their packaging! (<----packaging whore =DDD)

Anyways, the Rouge Hommage, a line of lippies (probably lip sheer) is no different, at least in terms of packaging. It's sleek and cool, just like me (barf). Um, anyways, something I really liked was that it has a magnet on the bottom half of the lippie (the edges of the bottom half and the cap are perfectly smooth where they meet), and every time I put the cap back on the magnet kind of sucks it back on with a satisfying click. The magnet seems pretty strong too, so I wouldn't worry about the cap coming off in my purse.

Now onto the product.

I really, really wanted to like Rouge Hommage. I've tried his other products and loved them. I totally dig the design of the lippie and the packaging, probably more than any other lip product I've used.

Too bad there's absolutely NO pigmentation. Now, I classified this line as a line of lip sheers, but man are they sheer. Now here's two attempts I made at taking a pic of the lippie next to a swatch:

Yeah.... You gotta squint kind of hard to see the swatch. Rouge Hommage didn't show up on my lips whatsoever, so I won't even bother posting a pic of me wearing it =(. It's definitely sheer and shimmery... but there's no real color, so what's the point? Might as well spend 2 bucks on some Avon/drugstore gloss and get probably a better shimmery effect.

Also, I didn't feel that it was particularily hydrating, as claimed by its description, although it wasn't drying either.

=( so disappointing. Maybe I'll head into Sephora and try another shade other than Guilty, but I don't really have high hopes for this one. Hit and a miss, Kevyn!

Smashbox Quench Moisture Rich Lip Gloss

Okay, so awhile ago there was a pretty sweet deal on Sephora's website: 5 bucks for a Smashbox lip gloss! I totally jumped on it and now I regret not buying backups since last time I checked, they were sold out =(.

As you can see, it's got a very simple plastic tube applicator. It's also very, very pigmented, which is pretty nice since it's a very solid watermelon pink. Hm.. what else is great about it? Well for 5 bucks, it's got pretty intense color and hydration and I find it extra convenient when I'm in a hurry since this product is rather like a moisturizing lip balm and pigmented gloss all in one.

The only con I can think of is the fact that since this product is rather thick and a bit sticky, staying power isn't too amazing. It comes off rather quickly (like, within an hour if I eat/talk a lot/ etc) but still, leaves my lips feeling a bit more moisturized.

All in all, I would buy this again for 5 bucks =).

Avon Smooth Minerals Lip Tint

Hey everyone!

Sorry for not posting in awhile, been experiencing some.. drama (bleeeeehhhhhh).

Anyways, I recently "splurged" on some Avon products (come on ... they were 2 bucks apiece for the gloss), and I thought I'd start by reviewing the lip tint from Avon's Smooth Minerals line in the color "Smooth Shimmer", a sheer, frosty pale pink.

So actually, this product wasn't too bad. Now Avon isn't really a higher-end brand name in cosmetics although it's been around for quite awhile, so I'm pretty much looking at their products as drugstore brand products. For a drugstore product, this lip tint isn't too bad, although I'm not sure if it's worth its 6 dollar price tag (I got it on sale though =D).

Since I got the sheerest, lightest color they offer, I can't say too much about this product's pigmentation. Still, I received more pigmentation than expected, so not bad =).

Texture-wise it's pretty much like a thick lip balm. One good thing is that it doesn't dry my lips like most drugstore products, although it's not particularly hydrating (Avon's website claims it has vitamin E and Shea butter).

Hm....... "Smooth Shimmer". Yep. This lip product has tons of very, very fine glitter in it. I like it since anything shiny attracts me, but there's a rather large problem because the shimmer migrates to other parts of my face quite fast. Actually, theres so much feathering with the shimmer that I don't know if even lip liner will help.. it gets pretty ridiculous. Definitely watch out for that... apply it carefully and maybe try a clear/reverse lip liner =(.

So.. all in all. It's okay. Pretty good color payoff, non-drying formula. However, not really good b/c it's more like a tinted lip balm with crazy glitter fallout and feathering....also, it tastes like every drugstore lip product.

Bitter, chemical-y, and just kinda....nasty.

=|