Review and Swatches: Wet n Wild Petal Pusher

While it has some gorgeous colors, Wet n Wild's 8 color palette in 736 Petal Pusher was a bit of a disappointment due to poor pigmentation. It contains a white that flashes pink/lavender/light blue at certain angles, a matte lilac with gold shimmer, a violet satin, a blue-violet with silver glitter, a light pink frost, a matte rust with rose gold glitter, a matte blackened purple packed with pink/red glitter, and a matte charcoal grey with silver glitter.

Below are swatches of the colors without flash.

Here you can better see the glitter in the second, third, and fourth shades in the right column.

The first color is beautiful in the pan, but hard to swatch and harder to capture. It creates a sheer white that flashes with iridescent pink, lavender, and light blue shimmer. It's a gorgeous color but absolutely requires a base.

The second color is very unique in my experience- it's a matte lilac with gold shimmer, which creates a lovely contrast, but it's not very pigmented and is a bit dry, so it would also require a base.

Next is a beautiful satin purple that also has a slightly dry texture and has better pigmentation than the first two but is still not as good as I've come to expect from Wet n Wild.

The last color in this column is a violet with silver glitter, also very unique, and also very dry and not well pigmented. I really built it  up for this swatch so you could see what a beautiful color it is, but it's pretty sheer and hard to work with. It's definitely worth it for such a beautiful color, though.

The top color on the right is a lovely break from the dryness and iffy pigmentation of the left column. It's a silky smooth frosty light pink with amazing pigmentation and a nice silvery sheen.

The second color is a bit dry and patchy but not as bad as the left column. It has a reddish-burgundy matte base with rose gold glitter. This is another unique shade that could create some really beautiful looks, and would definitely benefit from a base.

The third color is still a little dry but has nice pigmentation and goes on smooth, despite the somewhat chunky glitter. The base is a blackened violet with reddish pink glitter. Yet another unique and lovely color- this could create a nice smoky eye.

The last color is a matte charcoal grey with silver glitter that is -what a surprise- a bit dry, although it has good pigmentation. This is not a particularly unique color.

I haven't had any problems with creasing, but there is fading after just a couple of hours without primer, and even with primer the purples start fading around 6 or 7 hours. A cream base such as Mac Paint Pot or Maybelline Color Tattoo can help with longevity.

Though many of these colors are very unique, a few of them are dupes of higher end shadows.

On the top left, I'm comparing the top right shadow in the palette to the browbone shade in the Wet n Wild trio in 334 I'm Getting Sunburned. They have a similar frosty finish but the color from this palette is a bit lighter, not as vibrant of a pink, and has some more silver flash.

On the top right, I'm comparing the charcoal shade to Urban Decay Creep. Creep is a bit darker with slightly finer glitter, but I'm satisfied with these as dupes, and if you build up the Wet n Wild a bit more you could definitely get the same look on the eye with both. I'm sure there are other dupes for this shade as well, but one off the top of my head is Mac's Black Tied.

The third shade in the right column of the palette is slightly darker than Mac's Beauty Marked but on the eye they are pretty much interchangeable.

I really admire Wet n Wild's attempt to create some more unique shades with this palette, but I'm disappointed with the dry texture and sub-par pigmentation of most of the shadows. I don't find myself reaching for this often because even though many of the colors are gorgeous, I really have to work with them and the purples fade even with primer. If you really love some of these colors, the palette's not going to break the bank at $4.99, but otherwise you can find some nicer purple shadows, for example the Maybelline Eyestudio Color Explosion Eyeshadow Palette in 10 Amethyst Ablaze, although I think that one is a bit overpriced.

Purples are a difficult category of color, so if you really want purple eyeshadows and will use them a lot, I would recommend a medium-priced brand such as Inglot or Makeup Geek where you will pay more than drugstore but will get great quality.

Pigmentation: 6/10 (I had problems with 4 of the 8 shades, but was somewhat appeased by the lovely pink and nice darker shades on the right)
Texture: 5/10 (All of these except for the pink were dry, and the glittery violet was gritty)
Longevity: 5/10 (Quick fading without primer, and even some fading with primer)
Price: 10/10 (Even with the problems this palette has, I don't regret spending $4.99 and I think it's worth it just for the blackened violet shade)

Overall: 6.5/10

Review and Swatches: Wet n Wild Walking on Eggshells

This Wet n Wild trio in 380B Walking on Eggshells ($2.99 at drugstores) has been my go to recently for an easy and pretty day look. This trio consists of a satin light cream with gold undertones, a satin medium brown with very warm, orangey-gold undertones, and a shimmery peachy-pink champagne.

Below are swatches with and without flash, swatched in the order of the shadows in the packaging.

Swatches with flash

Swatches without flash

You can probably see that the cream is not as opaque as the brown and champagne. You can use it as a nice sheer highlight, or build it up or use it over a base if you want more opaque color.

The brown shade has fair color payoff with a nice texture- not too hard or soft, not too powdery or crumbly- but requires a little bit of building up if you want full coverage color. This color is great in the crease for a lighter look when you want something defined but not too smoky. It looks almost matte when blended out so the satin finish isn't a problem.

The champagne color is beautiful and insanely pigmented, which is in part due to a somewhat crumbly texture. It's easy to pick up too much, which can lead to fallout, but in my opinion the slight trouble is worth it for the gorgeous shimmery effect- I love the peachy undertones, which I find to be flattering on all eye colors and especially bring out green or blue eyes. It can also help cancel out any blue or purple hues in the inner corners and really wake up your eyes!

In terms of longevity, at first I experienced a little creasing with the champagne shade if I packed it on too much, but now that I've got the hang of it I haven't had any problems. With a primer, these shadows have lasted me about 14 hours. Without a primer, they start to fade around 7 or 8 hours but this fading is not noticeable from more than a foot away. Overall I'm very impressed with their performance.

Now for dupes! This palette is well-known for containing three Mac dupes- Shroom, Cork, and Naked Lunch. I decided to look beyond these known dupes and look for some more. Here's what I found:

Comparison swatches with flash

Comparison swatches without flash

Comparison swatches without flash

The closest dupe I found was Urban Decay Sin and the champagne "eyelid" shade. They are almost identical in color, with Sin looking a tiny bit darker in certain lights. Sin doesn't have the same crumbly-ness and is slightly less reflective on the eyes, but overall they are practically interchangeable.

For the medium brown shade, I found that it was close to Urban Decay's Buck, but Buck is completely matte, a little darker, and slightly less warm toned. They create the exact same effect on the eyes, though.

Finally, the cream shade was lighter than either Urban Decay Virgin or Urban Decay Bootycall, and had slight yellow undertones as opposed to the peachy undertones of Bootycall and cool pink undertones of Virgin. Bootycall is closer in color but Virgin creates a more similar effect on the eyes, with a slightly shimmery satin finish.

Overall, this is a great drugstore product with great pigmentation, workable textures, and good blendability. While these certainly aren't the most unique colors out there, this is a great staple in anyone's collection, and as described above, each shade can be substituted for certain Mac and Urban Decay shades, which are many times more expensive. Considering the low price and relatively high quality, I would definitely recommend picking this up.

Pigmentation: 9/10 (I wish the cream shade was a little more opaque)
Texture: 9/10 (As mentioned above, the champagne shade can be crumbly if you're not careful)
Longevity: 10/10 (Comparable to any high-end eyeshadow; last all day with primer)
Price: 10/10 (Great value at only $2.99)

Overall: 9.5/10

Revlon Colorstay Pencil Eyeliner Review

I am constantly trying out new pencil eyeliners in an attempt to find "the one." I don't think I've come across it yet, but I've had a lot of fun in the process!

I mostly focus on drugstore ones so as not to break the bank, but if you are looking for a tried and true pencil eyeliner, Feline by MAC is as black as they come, deliciously soft and smooth, and quite long lasting, if a bit smudgy. Makeup Forever also has amazingly creamy and high quality liners (and products in general) but at the rate I go through eyeliner, I can't justify spending that much.

Fully Retracted

The most recent addition to my collection was the Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner. I was searching for a good retractable one and decided to pick it up after seeing rave reviews. It certainly doesn't disappoint. Not excellent for tight lining, but long lasting on the waterline and perfect for the upper and lower lash lines. It's extremely precise (I think an upside of being retractable), and will not budge or fade once applied. I have worn it for 12 hours without problem, and I believe the claim of 16 hours. Not the darkest black, but it applies smoothly and evenly for a look midway between natural and smoky.

From top: one light stroke, one heavy stroke, three light strokes, three heavy strokes

Smudge resistance: After rubbing 5 times with a wet tissue and 20 times with a dry tissue

It costs $6.49, at least at my local CVS, so it's reasonable for the amount of product (it only fills about 1/2 of the packaging because of the retractable mechanism) and the medium-high quality. Since I go through eyeliner so quickly, I prefer to use a less expensive eyeliner from NYC (review coming soon!) for everyday use, and save this one for two or three times a week when I'm going out. Here I'm showing a simple look, but this is also great for cat-eyes/winged liner.

Overall, I give this an 8.5 out of 10, and would certainly recommend it to anyone from a makeup beginner to an eyeliner junkie for its ease of application and good cost to quality ratio.