Sunday, May 17, 2015

Revlon Color Burst Lip Butter in "Tutti-Frutti": Review and Swatches

I first tried Orange Lip color back in 2013, from my sister's lipstick stash! And I have been in love ever since! Even though some of the orange or coral colors can make teeth look a little yellow, nonetheless I love my Orange/Coral/Peach-y lip shades!


It already feels like summer here and if you are craving for some summery shades but still there is some hesitation, "Tutti Frutti" might be where you want to start! I bought Revlon Color Burst Matte Balm in "Audacious" for my sister last year around spring, and I picked this particular lip butter for me. I thought this would be a perfect to take with me during my never ending work tours; just to add some color to my otherwise bare face!

The lip butter is pretty sleek with convenient color coordinated packaging. The actual tube is also thin and sleek. The cap has two quilted side; and it closes nice and tidy enough. I have travelled A LOT with it, and the cap has NEVER betrayed me :-) For a total of 0.09 oz. (2.55 g) it costs around $5.99 to $9.39 depending on the store. These lip butters can be found in almost all drugstores like Walmart, Walgreen, Target, Ulta, CVS, Rite Aid and on the Revlon website. The good thing is that there is always some kind of sale with Revlon products! But I do think that a full price of around $8-9 is a bit steep for colored lip butter. 


These are nicely pigmented; I mean as much as you can expect from lip butter! Revlon website describes the product as "Pamper your lips with a gel formula that provides super-charged hydration and glides on buttery smooth. In fact, 94% of women's lips felt were softer, smoother, and instantly hydrated."  I find them easy-to-wear and very smooth on the lips. I actually love the feel and look for the first 2-3 hours. But as time goes by and I don't apply any other lip balm in between, this lip butter makes my lips chapped and dry which is exactly the opposite of what it is meant for. I do like the luscious and yet subtle look it gives me for the first few hours; but I don't think I will be interested in picking up another shade. I love Revlon's lip products, like the matte balms, super lustrous lipstick but this was a mild disappointment. I have very dry skin, so that might be the reason.  



Having said that, I have to be honest and state that, this has been one of the most used lip product in my giant stash, over the past few months. Mostly because I carry it with me for my work tours. It is easy to carry, gives me a little bit of color and I don't have to deal with the fear that I will destroy it while travelling.

Hope you guys had a lovely weekend....!!

Love,
~Arrru

Saturday, May 9, 2015

NYX: The Natural Shadow Palette: Review and Swatches!!!

It was my first or second ever trip to Ulta! I needed to to use up a coupon (little did I know that these coupons are so addictive!) I saw this cute little palette from NYX at the end of an aisle. At that point I did not have any high-end palettes with me so I thought this will be my "perfect" little neutral palette!

Ok! So, fast forward 1.5 years and here is my review of this palette for you guys :-)


The Natural Palette has 6 neutral shades mostly leaning to the lighter side, with a total weight of 6 g/0.21 oz. You can find NYX in UltaTarget, CVS or online at nyxcosmetics.com. NYX almost always has 50% BOGO offer. The regular price is around $ 7.50.

I love the packaging. Tiny, compact and sturdy enough! I dont expect a mirror at this price point. You can also see the smudge applicator which is still in its pristine form. :-) But overall, the packaging really makes it perfect for travel.

I have never tried NYX single eyeshadows but I have heard good things about it. And I have great experiences with their blushes! So, naturally I had high expectations from this too! But unfortunately, it was not at par with other NYX products I have tried.


The color range is kind of odd. I love the coffee color, the coral, as well as the taupe. But the rest looks and appears almost same. I have never tried using them without primer; honestly I don't think its worth trying :-) With MAC paint pot underneath, these shadows have wear time of around 6-7 hrs without a lot of creasing or losing the original intensity. Apart from the deepest shade, the rest of them has weak pigmentation. So it takes a few layers to build up the intensity. 

There are no color names..so I think I will just talk about them one after the other.

1. There is a matte cream/white shade. It appears almost white on my skintone. I use it for highlighting my browbone. I do use it when I am using this palette, so I guess it works fine for me. 
2. The gold flakes on beigey-yellow base is without doubt the worst shade in the pan. Very weak pigmentation and extreme fallout. I never wear it. But for this particular look, I tried using it and my under eye area looked horrible with all the fallout! The color did remain on the lid but there were no traces of the flakes after few hours! Very disappointing!
3. There is a lovely coral shade. Its matte! It's not highly pigmented so I love to use it to slightly warm up my crease.  



4. There is a beige shade with sheen. Not great pigmentation & nothing else to say about it. 
5. There is a very pretty taupe shade with sheen! I use it all over my lid. Not highly pigmented but because of that, I can wear it and still feel a bit pulled-together without looking like I am wearing makeup; even in working in a rugged electric substations!
6. My MOST favorite and MOST USED shade in this palette is a matte deep brown/coffee color and I love it! It has a very good pigmentation. Most of the days I use this to fill up my brows instead of spending my beloved and expensive Anastasia Brevely Hills Browwhiz. The pigmentation is good, yet not overly harsh. I can very easily use this on the outer-v or on the crease to deepen any look, without having to be careful about messing up the look. I get great use out of this shade and for me, because of that only, I think the palette was worth 7$.


NYX is a great brand from drugstore; its CRUELTY FREE, it's affordable and has a huge variety of shades in almost every product. I already have shared a million times that I work in a hardcore field environment and I travel a lot for that. I take this palette with me as there is not much risk or fear of damaging it. Even with low pigmentation for most of the shades, I can use it to lightly color my lids and if needed I can create a dark look too! So, for all these reason I think, even though it is not a GREAT product, for me, this has proven to be a justifiable purchase. If you are looking for similar products or if you are just starting out, this is may be a worth looking into. I will still suggest you to save some bucks and invest in a great high end palettes like Lorac Pro.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend... it will pass in a blink of an eye! :-)

Love,

~Arrru