NEW! CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencils - Swatches & Review

Hi there! Today I bring you a new drugstore product that I personally did not hear about beforehand, and was pleasantly surprised to find it in a store! These are new eyeshadow pencils that are by Covergirl and the line is called "Flamed Out Shadow Pencil".

On the display I found there were about 10 shades in the range, a few staple neutrals and others fun bright colours. For myself, I picked out 4 that were my type of everyday colours that I feel like I will get quite some use out of after this review :)

These are jumbo pencils type of stick shadows, but is not the automatic type. This will require sharpening with a cosmetics sharpeners. However, these are skinnier than most other shadow pencils on the market currently, namely NYX, Rimmel, Make Up Forever, etc, so it should be easier to find sharpeners this can fit into.

Of the 4 colours I have, they are mostly all the standard frosty shade that makes excellent bases for your eyeshadows to cling onto for some extra pop of intensity. The khaki colour has some chunkier glitter flecks in it but nothing unmanagable. Overall, the texture of all these are smooth and pigmented; they feel gentle on the eyelids and did not cause any tugging.

L-R, top-bottom: Crystal Flame, Ginger Flame, Ashen Glow Flame, Melted Caramel Flame

Swatched with 2 swipes

1) Crystal Flame: A classic frosty white shade that works great as an inner corner highlight on its own, or to prime the area for a powder shadow as a highlight to increase wear-time, as the tear duct area tends to be an area of fast fading.

2) Ginger Flame: A very cute pink shade with a slight warm golden undertone. There is a small amount of sliver glitter specks in this that reflects light nicely, but not enough to cause any fallout. This is a shade that I can consider wearing alone all over the lid on days when I am pressed for time. Of course, this is an excellent powder eyeshadow base as well.

3) Ashen Glow Flame: A rather unique khaki color that is not very common for drugstore cream shadows, so I was glad that CoverGirl decided to include one in their line. This colour is the only one that I currently own that contains, relatively, larger specks of silver glitter, but it does not feel gritty after applied to the eyelids. This is a colour that I would prefter to use more as a base for my green eyeshadows to increase the intensity of the colour.

4) Melted Caramel Flame: This is a beautifully rich chocolate brown colour, and I found that this is the most pigmented of the 4 that I own. This brown could make any of your brown shadows pop with intensity, I also find it to be an excellent choice of base for a smokey neutral eye on the outer-V, or smudged upwards from the top lashline. Another way I applied this was smudged beneath the bottom lashline, to create some smokey definition for the overall eye makeup.

Overall Impression: I think these are a good addition to the selection of drugstore products as cream shadow pencils used to be a novelty that were mostly high-end products. Those that used to be available at the drugstore tends to lack wear-able shade selection and quality. That being said, the CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencils are not without faults. The colour, although relatively pigmented, does require a couple swipes for full opacity, but at least they are acceptably buildable. If worn without a primer on my eyelids, creasing did happen within a couple hours. Worn over an eyeshadow primer, creasing significantly decreased, and topped off with a powder eyeshadow, the total wear-time was excellent.

Within the range, there are several other colourful shades that may be interesting for those of you who enjoy using brighter and bolder colours for your eye makeup as those will serve as a good choice for bases. On a regular basis I enjoy using shadow pencils to outline a shape for my powder eyeshadows because I have much more maneuverability and precision with the placement of the colour using a pencil form than with my fingers from a pot, so cream shadows in a stick/pencil form are definitely my first pick with it comes to creating a detailed eye look!

Disclaimer: All products in this post were purchased by myself with personal funds. This post has not been sponsored in any way, shape, or form. I have not, and will never, accept monetary contributions for reviewing products.

CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss - NEW nail polish - swatches!

Wow! Covergirl FINALLY released a line of nail polish again! It has been so long since their last nail polish line and frankly, I'm quite excited to see what CG has in store for us this time! I first spotted the new free-standing display in Shoppers Drug Mart about 2 weeks ago, and at that time it was listed with a regular price of $7.99. Even though many colours appealed to me, I held myself back from the rather high price tag. However, perusing the beauty aisle of Shoppers Drug Mart again today, I see found the polishes on sale for $5.99. It was time to buy several! :)

And several it was...the nail polish addict in me could not possibly leave the scene with just one..or two bottles. Nope, it will seven! Each bottle contains 11mL of product, which is slightly under OPI or China Glaze's 15mL bottles, but in comparison with other drug store polishes, Covergirl is right on the money! Essie, Revlon, Wet n' Wild, Rimmel, etc are slightly higher at a little over 13mL, Sally Hanson has some that are also 11mL, and Maybelline and Essence are slightly under at 7mL and 8mL, respectively.

I find the bottles of the Outlast line quite appealing also! In fact, they remind me a little bit of the high-end brand CHANEL and their nail polish line. Of course, the two are not exactly the same, but the shape, size and even cap design are very similar. These polishes have an external square cap that is to be removed and reveals the circular cap and brush underneath.

The brush is nothing out of the ordinary, just the typical slim brush. However, despite being on the thinner side coming out of the bottle, the brush actually spreads quite wide during application, which, in the end, still helps to achieve a flawless finish. :)

Right To Left: Always Naked, Magawatt Mauve, Smokey Taupe

Always Naked: This is a cream polish, with no sparkles or glitter. It is a very neutral colour, capable of giving the hands a very slim illusion. Colourwise, Always Naked is just a tiny bit tanner than Essie's Sand Tropez.

Megawatt Mauve: This is a cream polish, with no sparkles or glitter. It is a neutral dusty pink with a coral undertone. The colour is definitely workplace appropriate!

Smokey Taupe: This is a cream polish, with no sparkles or glitter. It is a dusky purple, leaning towards grey. I find this polish to be able to give the illusion of whiter skin of the hand, and when wearing it, it gives off a very sophisticated vibe.

Right to Left: Forever Festive, Wine to Nine

Forever Festive: This is a near-metallic finish polish, it is mostly red but in the light there is the slightest gold reflects. This polish is the perfect classic red nails for parties, especially during this time of the year with the holiday season!

Wine To Nine: This is a cream polish, with no sparkle or glitter. Please let me start by saying I LOVE the name, it's just too cute! And it is very fitting for the colour as this polish is a very soft yet wine colour with a plum tone to it. Absolutely stunning for nights out and it will go perfectly with any sort of gold accents.

Right to left: Golden Opportunity, Mint Mojito

Golden Opportunity: This is a finely milled sparkly polish. It is a silver-tone gold that doesn't come off too yellow. It is quite a festive polish that can be act as a base for glitter polishes, or definitely can be worn alone for that soft-spoken type of glam look!

Mint Mojito: This is a cream polish, with no sparkle or glitter. The shade is VERY close to the infamous Tiffany blue; it may just be a hair deeper and greener. This is similar to ESSIE's Turquoise & Caicos which is a bit greener, and to China Glaze's For Audrey which is a tiny bit bluer and lighter. 

Swatches part 1

Swatches part 2

The above swatches were all done with a single coat, which I find to be pretty amazing! The dry time was quite fast and was not streaky; the polish has really nice self-leveling abilities :) The finish was smooth and shiny and I'm very excited to test it on my nails for wear; would it really live up to it's "OUTLAST" claims? Now the big question is just...which one do I chose??

The following picture is of my swatch wheel held up to a light, and the polish doesn't appear to have too many "bald spots", an indicator of whether a polish will be sheer or patchy. With only one coat of polish on the swatch wheel, I have to say I am pretty impressed with the performance!

Checking for "bald spots" against the light!

The full display has 27 shades availabe, are you interested to pick up a couple and try for yourself if you come across them? Let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading,

Joanne

Covergirl LipPerfection Jumbo Gloss Balm - Swatch & Review!

Today's post is about a new lip product release from Covergirl that was announced a few months ago. I found this on a new end-cap display last week while browsing leisurely at London Drugs and I thought I would pick one up for review! It is the Covergirl LipPerfection Jumbo Gloss Balm and I chose the shade 225 Rose Twist.

Looks like Covergirl is one of the latecomers when it comes to releasing some form of "jumbo lip" product, as it's preceded, already, by numerous products like LipSurgence by Tarte, Chubby Sticks by Clinique, Lip Gloss Stick by Pur Minerals, and (most recently, i.e. summer 2012) Revlon JustBitten Kissable Balm Stain. All these products share similar packaging - a chubby pencil case with a cap and a twist-up bottom for the lip colour. Here is the CG gloss beside the Revlon Balm Stain:

Doesn't it look so similar? Haha! Covergirl gloss balm also appears to be a little bit shorter than Revlon's Balm Stain but actually, CG offers 3.8gm of products where as Revlon only offers 2.7gm, so CG wins this round for generosity.

As previously mentioned, the shade I chose was 255 Rose Twist, which compared to the others on the rest of the display, appeared to be the most natural and wearable shade. Seemed like a good tester products that's more on the safe side. The shade name is printed on the wrapper, but once that is removed, no where else on the packaging are you able to located the name anymore. This is one of my pet peeves...I'm likely to forget this name if I didn't take this picture! On a (small) plus side, there is a small sticker on the bottle of the pencil that has the number printed, so at least it's not ALL gone.

The tip of the product is nicely tapered to a point, and twists up from the bottom - no sharpening!

Swatched - 5 swipes across

The claim of the product is printed right on the tube, concise and precise - "sheer color, soft shine". I couldn't agree more. The claim is neither under-spoken nor exaggerated; it is quite an accurate description of what Covergirl's LipPerfection Jumbo Lip Gloss Balm will do for your lips. The colour is indeed on the sheer side - it's kind of like 40% lip balm, 25% lipstick, and 25% lip gloss, if you get what I mean. It's moisturizing on the lips, but it looks even better with an actual lip balm as the base layer first. That being said, my lips did not dry out after applying, which is always a plus :) The colour payoff is not the strongest amongst other similar lip products, Revlon's JustBitten Kissable Balm Stain is indeed the stronger contender in this department. CG Gloss Sticks are also NOT a stain, therefore it doesn't leave any lasting colour behind after it fades. This may be preferable to those who loves to change lip colours several times a day, and likewise not as desirable to those who enjoy minimal reapplication of lip products through the course of a day. The shine that it gives is quite noticeable upon initial application on the lips, bit wears off relatively soon. However, the colour definitely lingers longer.

The CG Gloss Balm is minimally scented; what little scent/taste it has is very similar to a typical lipstick. That is something that stuck me as odd, as I was half-expecting to find a minty scent similar to the Revlon JustBitten Kissable Balm Stains (likely because I've been using that for so long now!).

Wear-time is moderate, the color lasted through about 2 hours of chatting and drinking. I pretty much didn't remember I had on any lip colour until I wiped my lips with a tissue to prepare for the main course! The gloss balm has a very light-weight feeling on the lips, which is quite nice.

Lip close-up!

All in all, I think this is a nice little product to have, especially for those who are just venturing in the the lip products category, it's easy to apply and is pretty much fool proof. If you are looking for a product that has better lasting power and a stronger colour payoff right from the start, then a better candidate would be the Revlon JustBitten Kissable Balm Stains. I paid $8.99 + tax for this at London Drugs, it was not on sale, and in my honest opinion I don't think it's really worth that price tag. However, if I spot it on sale next, I think I will try one more of the bolder colours and see how it performs! :)

Until next time,
Joanne