Essie Merino Cool Review + Swatches!

Essie describes Merino Cool as a sensuous autumn mulberry. Personally I'd describe it as a purple-greige. Shopper Drug Mart was having a sale on Essie polishes last week from $12CAD to $8CAD so I picked up a couple of shade and this is so far my favorite.

This applies like all Essie polishes, a bit thinner than OPI or Julep and you definitely need two coats to achieve the bottle colour. I found that this turned out darker than what the bottle appears and more purple toned than I thought. When I was in the store it looks more like Smokin' Hot does in the bottle.

I do however love this colour, it's fantastic for fall/winter, not too dark like some polishes but not too bright either. I'm really loving neutral-ish nails lately and merino cool fits perfectly.

Tarte Fantastic Foursome Blush Review + Swatches!

 This was the one item I allowed myself to buy during the month of October while I had a buying ban on. It was sold out online and was selling out fast in stores so I snapped it up. The Fantastic Foursome retails for $35USD/$46CAD (Canadian price is a guess, it's no longer available on sephora.com) which works out to be $11.50 a blush, which are half the size of the regular amazonian clay blushes from tarte which cost $33.

 From the top left you get Stellar which is a neutral, Magic which is a coral, Angelic which is a great highlighter and Fantastic which is a hot pink. The packaging is the same as their full sized blushes, a hard plastic in the colour of the blush. I like this better than the Nars or MAC packaging because it makes them easier to find in the drawer.

Each blush is embossed with a picture of the Amazon which is cute. Magic and Fantastic are matte blushes which I love, and Stellar and Angelic have some shimmer. I have to say Fantastic is my favorite out of the group, it looks a bit scary in the pan being bright pink but looks amazing on.

From Left to right: Fantastic, Magic, Angelic, and Stellar. Stellar is my least favorite of the bunch because it feels like a really light bronzer to me. I might start liking it more in place of my Nars Laguna bronzer when my skin gets even paler in the winter.

If you can still find this set I highly recommend it. It was my first Tarte purchase and I do not regret it at all. I can't wait to explore more of the Tarte line and share it with you!

Review and Swatches: Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait

I have been loving Revlon Lip Butters for months now. They are amazingly hydrating, give great colour pay off and are easy on the wallet to boot! I think I picked up this one on sale for $5.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart before summer started. I think regularly these retail around the $10 mark, but I've always been able to find them on sale.

The packaging is really nice, the cover has a quilted pattern on it and comes in the colour of the lipstick. This make it super easy to know what colour you're grabbing when in a rush, unlike MAC lipsticks which are a bit of a pain to sort through.

I do find that the lip butters melt very easily and tend to smudge on the packaging if you're not careful. Peach Parfait is a gorgeous neutral pink. It's very much a your lips but better kind of product. I find I reach for this colour all the time, whether for day to day looks or to balance out a smokey eye. The only thing I don't love about this is that there is sparkles in it, which I would prefer that it didn't have.

I love layering Peach Parfait with MAC's Pink Lemonade Tinted Lip Glass over top. This gives my lips a really great fresh summery look.

Rating:

Packing: 5/5 I like that it's easy to find in my makeup drawer and it doesn't look cheap.
Pigmentation: 5/5 You won't get huge pigmentation if you apply it lightly but I find that these are VERY build-able if you want more colour.
Texture: 4/5 The only reason this looses marks is because of the glitter, it makes it just a tiny bit rougher than my other lip butters.
Longevity: 4/5 These aren't going to last you all day, I would say 3-4 hours as long as you don't drink anything.
Application: 5/5 I can apply this without a mirror and not worry that I've made myself look like a clown.


Overall I would 100% recommend this product, I give it an total rating of 4.5/5 and it only really looses marks because of the glitter. This is a great lip product for day to day.