Covergirl and Katy Perry: Katy Kat Matte Lipstick Swatches.

Nothing to disclose, purchased by me.

Well hello there! Its been a little bit since my last post! I hope you all are well! I've just been busy working tons of hours since we are once again short staffed at work and who knows when my boss will actually decide to hire someone.

But today I am back with a look at some new lippies that have hit the drugstore. I have two of the new Covergirl and Katy Perry Matte lipsticks to show you!

I found mine at Rite aid and they were buy one get one half off! I did some research on these lipsticks and there are 11 shades total in the collection, the display at my Rite Aid was quite small, and only had about four or five shades on it. Pretty much all nudes, and berry colors. When I looked at Covergirl's website I saw that there are quite a few nude to berry tones in the collection with some bright pinks, an orange shade and even a charcoal almost black shade!

I hope that either my Rite Aid gets a more permanent display or I find the whole collection somewhere else.

So lets get into the two shade I have for you!

Reading on Covergirl's website, these are not completely matte lipsticks, Covergirl describes them as being a demi-matte lipstick, which is definitely true to one of shades I purchased.

I quite like the packaging on these and how easily identifiable these lipsticks are!. The outer tube itself feels like it has a rubberized coating on the plastic  which feels nice in the hand. The bright white color also draws the eye right in and will also make it really easy to find these in my makeup collection. 

Its great you can see a preview of what the color is on the bottom of the lipstick, even though I know Covergirl does this to all their lipsticks. Even if the packaging wasn't a bright color it would still make these easy to find.

They also put little cat ears over the names on each lipstick which is really cute and once again I will easily be able to find them and identify what collection they are from! 

Time for swatches! 

My camera did make the colors a bit darker than they are in real life so I did add some more light to the photos to get it to the right color.

Lately I've been on the hunt for that perfect matte nude color, most of my lip collection is nudes in some form or another but Sphynx is the nude lip I've been looking for, where its my lip color but better. I know i have said that about other nude lipsticks in the past but this one quickly became my top favorite as soon as I put it on. 

 Catoure is like if I bit down on my lips for hours to make them look more flushed. it is slightly darker than what the little color block on the tube shows, but I love dark lip colors anyway. Its a nice color thats not too dark to wear during the summer.  

I haven't had a chance to wear Catoure out yet, but I have worn Sphynx quite a bit. Sphynx feels nice on the lips, its smooth and creamy and in just a couple of swipes I have full coverage. Also like it says on Covergirl's Website it did not dry out my lips at all! On a day where I wear it to work I can usually get a good four to five hour wear time in between munching on snacks and drinking my water all day. When I wore it out on Saturday I got a pretty good almost all day wear on it since my mom and I were busy shopping and I wasn't really eating or drinking anything. 

Overall I really love these lipsticks, and after seeing some swatches of the other colors I most likely will invest in more next paycheck! 

I hope you guys have an awesome day! I'll talk to you soon! 

<3 Nicole 

Review: City Color Cosmetics: Be Matte Blush.

Nothing to Disclose

Good morning guys and gals! I'M BACK!!! How is everyone recovering from the holidays? I can absolutely say that this Christmas and New Years was the best ones yet of my adulthood. It was filled with spending so much time with family and friends, it was glorious. I even reconnected with family that I hadn't seen in over a decade.

However, rambling about my Christmas and New Years holiday is not what this post is about. I'm here to give you my review of two blushes that are amongst my favorite in my makeup collection.

I'm sure some of you have heard of City Color Cosmetics, if you haven't you should check their website, HERE !

I have found most of their products at my local Five Below, but if you visit their website you can see everything.

Today I'm going to show you two blushes I picked up from their Be Matte Blush line. I will confess that I purchased these two sometime during the fall and have been using them ever since, but on my last visit to Five Below they were still available and they also had more colors from the line.

These blushes are a nice size, they are almost the size of my palm. The two colors that I purchased were Blackberry (on the left) and Fresh Melon (on the right).

The texture on these are smooth and soft, although Blackberry was slightly more silkier feeling. One circle with your finger will give you quite the color pay off.  Lets take a look at swatches!

In both photos Fresh Melon is on top and Blackberry is on the bottom. As you can see they look different in whatever light your in. In the sun both blushes look like normal pink blushes but one is just darker than the other. In the shade however  this is where Blackberry shines, you can see the beautiful purple color that shines through making this a unique blush for my collection. Fresh Melon takes on a  more neon pink appearance.

One tip I do have is for the application of Blackberry, while both have great pigmentation, do not have a heavy hand with Blackberry, the first time I put it on I barely swirled my brush in it and I looked like a clown.

If I can recall, I paid I believe $3 for each blush. I know sometimes Five Below runs deals on the makeup they carry so look out for that. On the City Color Cosmetics Website the Be Matte Blushes are $4.99 and they always offer free shipping on orders $25 and over!

Overall for the price, size and the way these blushes perform I am over the moon for them! They currently hold a place in special drawer on my vanity where only my frequently used blushes reside!

Have you tried any products from City Color Cosmetics? If so let me know and if you have any recommendations for anything let me know in a comment below!!!

Maybelline Color Blur By Lip Studio

Purchased by me.

Good morning lovelies!! How was your weekend? Mine was so-so. I was supposed to hang out with my dad but he didn't feel well so every plan we had went down the toilet. I was pretty bummed but I'll get over it as I always have.

Today I want to show you  a new product from Maybelline and has become one of my favorite lippies to wear. Maybelline has certainly become one of my favorite drugstore brands over the years and I love anything matte for the lips! I think I own more Maybelline products over any other brand.

A while back I had heard they released a matte velvet lip pencil over in the United Kingdom and after seeing some of my favorite British beauty bloggers talk about them I KNEW I would need them if they were ever to be release here. Well of course about a half a year later Maybelline released them but under a new name and different packaging. I don't have a problem with that as long as the product is good.

Maybelline Color Sensational Creamy Matte Lipsticks. My Picks For Fall!

Well hello there lovelies! I hope you all are well! I'm back with a swatch and review for you amazing readers today!

Over the last I guess you could say almost year I have fallen in love with matte lip products.

And of course this meme jumped in my head when I wrote that above sentence.  Today I am going to bringing you my views on the new Maybelline Color Sensational Creamy Matte Lipsticks. That is a mouthful.

I first heard about these through Nouveau Cheap which if you haven't heard of G. and her amazing beauty on budget blog. I seriously check her blog pretty much everyday to see whats about to hit the drugstores beauty wise.

When I read that Maybelline was going to be launching a matte lipstick line I was super excited since at the time my favorite matte lippies were made by Revlon. I am a huge fan of the Color Burst Matte Balms. Number 250 Standout is my go-to red lippie.

So I waited patiently for them to arrive at my local drugstore. The first one I wanted to pick up was Touch Of Spice, which reminds me quite a bit of the Gerard Cosmetics Lipstick 1995 which was created by Jaclyn Hill. Photos I have seen online pretty much show Touch Of Spice is an exact dupe for it.

The second one I got but didn't necessarily plan on getting, because god knows I need more lipsticks,  but I couldn't pass up Divine Wine, which is a red but its more of a vampy dark red. Its darker than Revlon's Standout. I was inspired to buy this because of the lovely YouTuber Zoella. I have always seen her rocking a dark red lip and I wanted to try too.

The texture of these lipsticks are amazing, they are super creamy and smooth. They don't dry out your lips like some mattes can do. I will say these lipsticks have a scent to them, but I don't find it unpleasant. To me it smells kind of vanilla-y. Plus I don't smell it at all after applying it. 

Lets take a look at some swatches. 

 These swatches are done with one swipe of the lipstick. In the photo you can see Touch of Spice is a brown toned nude and has that classic '90s look to it. Divine Wine is just that a nice blue toned dark red. On my lips its looks a little darker than shown here.

The staying power is not very long lasting, after eating and drinking you will have to reapply.

I paid $4.97 for these lovely lippies at Walmart which is great because other places they are about $7.99!

If you want to get your hands on these I would check out your local drugstore or Walmart now because I think everyone should have access to them!

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you love matte lippies like I do comment below and tell me whats your favorite!

I'll see you guys on Thursday with a Halloween mani!!
<3 Nicole

*All the above products mentioned by me were purchased by myself with my own money. I am not being compensated for this review.*

China Glaze Loves A Beach.

Hello all! Happy Friday afternoon!

It has been bitterly cold here in New York for the past almost week, I can't tell you how much I want the spring time to get here!

To help combat the bitter cold today I have a polish that will make you want to go to the beach!

Loves A Beach is from the China Glaze Summer Neon's collection it is a medium bright florescent pink. You could compare it to Hang Ten Toes its just a shade or two darker.

When Loves A Beach dries the shimmer that you can see in the other colors isn't too prevalent, at least to me it isn't. The finish is much more of a matte satin. With the addition of top coat though the shimmer comes alive and creates a great back drop for nail art or glitter.

The formula on this polish is pretty good, three coats take care of any visible nail line. It is definitely a good idea to wait a few minutes in between coats so you don't get any brush drag or bald spots.

I still believe that The Summer Neon's is still available to purchase through the online E-tailers. So if your stuck in the bitter cold like I am or just in need of a spring-ish color then you might want to pick up a couple of these colors!

Do you already own any of the Summer Neon's?

<3Nicole

China Glaze Summer Neons: Hang Ten Toes, I'm With The Lifeguard!

Hello lovely polish lovers!

I am so thankful its Friday! Who is ready for the weekend?  I am! What a better way to start off the weekend with a bright fun summer manicure!

Back on Monday; actually back last week I started stalking Head2toe Beauty for some of the new collections from China Glaze. Head2toe is an online e-tailer that carries our favorite brands of nail polish for sometimes much less than what we would find out at Sally's or other places. I'm sure though that most of you already know this!

I think I will do a post on my experiences with ordering from online retailers, although I have to say this. I have nothing but praise for Head2toe Beauty!

I ordered six of the China Glaze Summer Neons, at three bucks a pop I couldn't resist splurging a little since there are no intriguing drugstore polishes out there that I want.


I ordered, Orange You Hot, Beach Cruise-r, Loves a Beach, Hang Ten Toes, I'm With the Lifeguard, and Pink Plumeria. Today I have to show you Hang Ten Toes and an accent nail of I'm with the Lifeguard.

The formula on these polishes are nice, a little thick although easy to control,  three coats and you are good to go! These polishes do dry matte, I mean they are neons, but even when they are matte they have this shimmer about them! Adding your favorite top coat just puts them over the top!

                                     

When I first applied these polishes I didn't have the best lighting so they looked darker to me. Its been 95 degrees with high humidity the last two days so the house has been sort of dark to keep it cool. I did notice though that high humidity affects how fast my polish dried though. :(  It sucks but I found I just had to take it slow and let each layer dry completely before continuing. As soon as I got out in the sun yesterday evening I saw just how bright they really are!

I am in love with all these colors and can't wait to show you guys all the of them!

China Glaze can be found on Head2toe beauty for $3.00 a bottle and at Sally's for usually $5.99 a bottle, or a little less if you have a beauty club card.

Until next time!
Nicole

Bolts of Blue!

Hi all! Happy Thursday!

Hope you all have been doing well. For me life has been okay, a little depressed due to personal/family stuff but hopefully that will be sorted out soon. Now on to happier news!

Last week I went a tad bit overboard in the polish department... I bought lots of polish over the course of four days. That's the most I have ever purchased in one span of time. It was all worth it though because I hadn't bought any new polish in about a month.

Today I have one of those colors for you! The first place I always check for new polishes, (drugstore ones at least) is Rite Aid. One day on a whim after work I stopped in and BAM, there were at least like four new collections out including Color Club Polishes! If Rite Aid Plans on beginning to sell Color Club I am all for it.

This color is not from CC though. Its from a company called Hedy Ma.nish.ma. I did a review of one of their "holographic polishes".  This polish is from there Electric Brights collection, they all have a satin matte finish. Oh and of course they are neons! You have your standard pink, green, orange and yellow, they had a dark blue and a bright electric blue. This electric blue is appropriately named Bolts Of Blue.

The price tag on these polishes is $3.99 I believe. I could be a dollar off but don't quote me, and I'm not sure if prices vary from region to region. Its best if you check your local Rite Aid for the correct price.

Okay so enough with the rambling and lets get to the pictures. Stupid me forgot to take pictures before I stamped over the manicure. You can still tell how awesome this color is though.

First thing when I swatched this polish I wanted to either stamp something on it or use it for stamping and I think leopard print is perfect!

This polish is nice to apply. Two coats and its opaque. By itself matte its a very pretty color, but adding a top coat makes this polish a pretty gem! It just comes alive as an electric blue with tons of shimmer that is perfect for the upcoming summer!

I hope you all enjoyed this post! I also hope if you want this color you can find it at your local Rite Aid if you have one near you!

Nicole

Zoya Savita

Hello! Happy Friday to everyone! Hope you all are having a fabulous Friday!

Today I have a manicure I did over Easter weekend. Its what I wore on Easter and was supposed to post it on Easter as well, sadly the holiday got in the way and I didn't have time to get to the computer! I do hope you all had a lovely Easter too!

My untrieds are starting to generate more and more, I think right now I have about 25 or so if I were to go and look right now. I purchased two Zoya Polishes for the first time back in January when they had the get two free polishes and just pay shipping. That promo was good, so many people participated that my polishes didn't get to me until the end of January!

From that promo I got Zoya Savita and Zoya Flora! I have used Zoya Flora in the 31 Day Challenge. I plan on doing a full post about Zoya Flora soon. Today though I have Zoya Savita, to share. It is a matte polish, my first one actually! Mattes are growing on me more and more, I actually just bought a couple more from different brands over the last couple of months,

Savita is a matte purple , Zoya has it labeled on their bottles as a Matte Velvet Lacquer.

I'm surprised I never wore any purple matte before! I do love this polish in its natural form. However with the way matte polishes chip so easily because obvious use of top coat would defeat the purpose!

Here is Savita with a top coat. I had no idea Savita had a ton of pink/orangish shimmer in it!

Of course I couldn't leave it like that. Lately I have been about stamping, so I added some silver daises with Sally Hansen Celeb City.

In each photo Zoya Savita is two coats although with a little thicker coat one could be just fine! The formula is really easy and isn't runny at all and allows for the optimum control!

Zoya Polishes can be found on Zoya's website and I believe at Ulta as well! Hope you all enjoyed this ! Talk to you all soon.
Nicole

Milani Neon: Pink Hottie

Hi everyone! Happy weekend! Hope you all are doing well!

 I was in the neighboring county yesterday to drop my dad at the train, I was also on the hunt for the Nabi Magnetic Polish that are supposedly popping up at Walgreens. Did my Walgreens have them...no, neither did the other one I went to. I saw swatches on Scrangies Blog and I'm dying for the red one. I'm hoping that they will pop up in the Northeast next week or so since they were spotted out in the midwest already. Heres to hoping!

So after striking out at Walgreens I went over to the CVS across the street and looked at the Milani display to get another 3D Holographic polish. I bought Cyberspace, the blue one and one of the Neons, in Pink Hottie.

That is what I bring you today Pink Hottie! I think this is my perfect pink color! Its that bright bubblegum pink that suits the warmer weather and is just all around girly!

I know that neons dry matte, that doesn't bother me at all since a top coat can fix that in a pinch. The application I wasn't so happy about. It was really streaky and my non dominant hand can attest to that. It took about the standard 3 coats to be opaque, I did add a fourth coat just to make sure it was all good, especially on my right hand.

This first picture is the polish all by itself with no top coat. Even matte this polish has an amazing gloss to it!



Here it is in the shade, no flash with a top coat. It looks so much darker than it is. Outside of the pictures this color makes my hands look really tan. 

Finally we have in the sun and with a flash.

That's it for today! Do any of you own Neons from Milani or just any neons in general??

Thanks for stopping by!

Nicole