Love It or Toss It, #3

A few weeks ago, Gummy and I started a little series where we selected a few products to use that we weren't so sure about. We decided to use them over the course of a weekend, and make that final decision. Check out the last two posts here and here.

This weekend, I selected a few products that I hadn't used in ages. Read on to see what made the cut! 

Sephora Contour Eye Pencil 12HR Waterproof in Flirting Game
I love the shade of this eyeliner and how creamy it is to apply. Unfortunately, it bothers my eyes a little and definitely does not have 12 hour wear. I wore it one day and by lunch, it had majorly creased in my monolid area. By the end of my workday, it was nearly gone. This one is a definite toss for me, though if you don't have troublesome lids or sensitive eyes this may be great for you. 

Revlon Baby Stick in Pink Passion
I believe this was LE for the summer collection, and I'm not even sure what possessed me to pick it up given all of the mixed reviews. It is a bright pink in the tube, but quite sheer on the skin. On my face it has just the right amount of warmth. It is super easy to use, and much easier to blend than the Revlon PhotoReady Cream Blush. There's not a whole lot in the tube, so I'm hoping this will be something I can manage to use up one day? 

Nars Velvet Gloss Pencil in New Lover
This is such a great natural shade - really, my fiance couldn't even see it on my lips, and for me that is a real sign of a "my lips but better" sort of shade. I love the creamy formula of this, and it isn't drying at all. This one wore off when I ate, but I recall having Mexican Rose, another shade in this line, stay on as a stain even the next day. I like how easy it is to use this one though, and I sure don't mind reapplying this if I ever remember!

Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in Holy Smokes!
I love cream eyeshadows, and I jumped on this repackaged and reformulated version this past spring. I love the grayish taupey shade, and the creamy texture. While I've read that some don't like the packaging, I quite prefer this to the old style - it is much easier to get at the product in this flatter packaging. This wears pretty well on me, and even after 12 hours, I see only minor creasing in my monolid area that is perfectly acceptable to me. 

Swatches below. L-R: Nars Velvet Gloss Pencil in New Lover, Revlon Baby Stick in Pink Passion, Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Holy Smokes!, Sephora Contour Eye Pencil in Flirting Game

All in all, I guess I only have one dud from this week's selections, though perhaps once I get through everything I'll have to go through everything again with a more critical eye? Or maybe by then I won't feel the need to edit down the collection.

Have you tried any of these products? How did they fare for you? I'd love to know!  

 All products were purchased by me. This post contains affiliate links.

Love It or Toss It, #2

A few weeks ago, Gummy and I started a little series where we selected a few products to use that we weren't so sure about. We decided to use them over the course of a weekend, and make that final decision. Check out the last post here.

Lancome Khol in Love Eyeliner in Chocolate Affair (LE)
I purchased this a while back and didn't really use it much. I suspected that it bothered my eyes, and I'm sad to say that it is not as budgeproof as I hoped. After a few hours, it smudges a bit in my monolid area, and it definitely makes my eyes feel itchy and tired. I think I can still return this, but if not, then it is definitely going in the blog sale!

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer - Radiance 
I love the idea of a radiance primer, but I just haven't found one liked yet. This one, while not shimmery, just made my skin texture look BAD. (Like, worse than it does without any makeup on.) I thought I liked it, but I think I was having better skin days then. I might give the L'Oreal Lumi Primer another try, since it was subtle and worked fine on my skin. Oh well, there's always something else to try!

Laura Mercier Satin Lip Color in Duchess Rose
This shade doesn't seem to exist anymore, which is sad because it is such a nice bright yet work appropriate pink. I like the long wearing semi-matte finish - it lasted hours, through dinner and Pinkberry, and drinking soda. Really, it was mostly still there after I violently wiped my mouth after dinner haha! I'm keeping this one, and while it may not be a "special" or terribly unique color, I plan to use up this cute mini! 

L-R: Laura Mercier Duchess Rose, Lancome Khol in Love in Chocolate Affair, Laura Mercier Radiance Primer

It definitely feels good to go through the collection and make decisions on it, don't you think? Have you tried any of these products? Did you love them or toss them?? I'd love to know!  

P.S. This time around, two lovely ladies also decided to join me. Check out their posts here: Wondeondigo & Lipstick Boulevards. I plan to do this again in 2 weeks, so if anyone wants to join in, whether you have a blog or not, do let me know! :) 

 This post contains affiliate links.

Love It or Toss It

A few weeks ago, Gummy and I were talking about editing our collections. She is quite fabulous at purging things from her collection, and I am really not. While I don't have a HUGE collection compared to many bloggers, I still would really like to have a manageable, reasonable stash that I really love. 

I grumbled to Gummy about just how many products in my stash don't get much, or even any use for quite some time, that I have so many makeup items that I just don't get around to reviewing because I rarely, if ever use them... and then Love It or Toss It was born.  

We selected a few items to use over the course of a weekend, and hope to continue this series on a regular basis. We welcome anyone who would like to join in - feel free to post photos on Instagram or Twitter and tag #loveitortossit. :) 

Read on to see what I selected, and what made the cut!  

I had a hard time deciding on most of these products that I selected, though I know one product is absolute LOVE.  

I am completely obsessed with this Giorgio Armani Rouge d'Armani Lipstick in 103. The formula is scent free and totally creamy, which is just a dream. It may even be the perfect nude, even on my somewhat mauve-y inconsistently pigmented lips. I definitely want more Armani lipsticks, from this range as well as the Rouge Sheers and new Rouge Ecstasy line.  

I'm a bit on the fence about Bobbi Brown Long Wear Eye Pencil in Black Plum. The formula is quite smudgeproof on me, and wears really well on my monolid area. No smudges for hours upon hours, and I totally love the blackish purple shade. It drags a bit, especially when I tightline, and I find it ridiculous to sharpen for some reason. The pencil edges get sharp?? I don't know how to explain it, but I do know that I love the shade and my fiance even complimented my eyeliner. (And he does not really like eyeliner!) I'll be keeping this since I love the shade and don't have anything like it, but I won't repurchase this liner. 

Swatches below. L-R: Armani Rouge d'Armani Lipstick in 103, Revlon Photoready Cream Blush in Flushed, L'Oreal Magic Lumi Primer partially blended & not blended, Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Liner in Black Plum

Now I'm leaning towards toss for the two drugstore products here, but I'm still not totally sure. The Revlon PhotoReady Cream Blush in Flushed was a purchase I enjoyed last summer, but I don't know if it is total love. I've gotten so many cream blushes since, and this one has a very silicone feel in comparison to some of the others. It also takes a bit of effort to blend, but for about $10 I'd say it is worth a try.

I feel the same about the L'Oreal Magic Lumi Primer - I've gotten so many lovely things since. I'd say this is an OK primer, nothing stellar in that department, and doesn't highlight pores or anything like that. I do like to wear it as highlight, but it is super subtle as there is no shimmer in this really at all. Those of you who find Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector to have too much shimmer may like this, actually. Mine suddenly started to be a bit runny, like water was separating out from it, which is strange, as it was just fine before. 

Here's a photo of me wearing everything in this post - not sure if you can see much of anything, but I thought I'd give it a try!

What do you think of these products? Have you tried any of them? Do you think I should keep or give away the ones I'm not so sure about??  

All of these products were purchased by me. This post contains affiliate links.