Melody's October Mini-haul! [Swatches]

Hey guys! Can you believe it's already November?! I know this is a few days late but here are the products I bought in the month of October.

• NYX blush in #06 Peach
• Wet n Wild Color Icon blusher in Pearlescent Pink
• L'Oreal HiP metallic eye shadow duo in Electrified (#510)
• L'Oreal extra intense liquid pencil eyeliner in Carbon Black
• L'Oreal Limited Edition Cockatoo's Mystery
• Revlon super lustrous lipstick #668 Primrose
• Escada Taj Sunset Eau de Toilette
• Ecotools blush brush

Quick Overview of the Products

The NYX Blush I bought was quite a disappointment. I've never had a problem with NYX's pigmentation; in fact, their products' pigmentation are excellent for their price. However, when I applied the blush, the color was barely noticeable on my cheeks. It took a few buffs until the color showed. I love the color, but it was just too sheer for my taste.

Unlike the NYX blush, the Wet n Wild Blusher was definitely not disappointing! This product is extremely pigmented and the color is beautiful. Be careful not to apply an overwhelming amount though! I advise you to dab the your brush into the blush rather than swirl the brush because it will grab a tremendous amount of product.

I also picked up L'Oreal Hip Metallic Eye Shadow in Electrified on my trip to Harmon's. The pigmentation is   amazing! I absolutely adore the colors; they are very wearable even as an everyday look (maybe not to school though). The shadows have a slight cream consistency and are very bendable. I originally thought the purple would be more purple, but it's actually leaning on the purple-brown side. However, I don't really mind because I think the duo looks great together either way.

Another L'Oreal product I bought was the Intense Liquid Pencil in Carbon Black. Originally, I had hope to find Milani Liquif'eye at Walgreen, but the store I went to didn't carry Milani. In desperate need of a liquid pencil eyeliner, I bought the L'Oreal one only to find out it wasn't water proof (I should have payed more attention to the labels). The eyeliner comes with a smudger which can come in handy in making the look softer. As the name suggests, the color is very black. When applying the eyeliner, I would wait a few seconds to let it dry so it doesn't smudge. However, because it is not waterproof, rubbing your eyes can easily mess up the look! So watch out for that.

Grey nail polish seems to be a trend this fall, so I bought L'Oreal's Cockatoo's Mystery on a whim. I love this color! The color is a medium grey and a hint of purple can be seen depending on the lighting. Two coats was enough for me to get an even look my nails. I would really recommend this nail polish!

The Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Primrose was an okay product. I found that it doesn't apply evenly on my lips, which was a disappointment because the color is very pretty. Although it claims to be moisturizing, I actually found it to dry out my lips rather quickly. However, the pigmentation and the lasting power is excellent.

I have always been a fan of Escada perfume. Therefore, I had to get the Taj Sunset before they took it off the market. I only found out recently that they change their perfume every summer (No wonder I can't find Rockin' Rio anywhere!) This perfume has a very summer citrus scent. The citrus scent is not overwhelming like oranges or lemons; it's really sweet. I can also smell mangoes, which are one of my favorite fruits! It is now my new favorite perfume and I absolutely adore it!

Without flash - From left to right: Revlon lipstick in Primrose, Wet n Wild blush in Pearlescent Pink, NYX blush in Peach, L'Oreal HiP eye shadow duo in Electrified

With flash

That is it for my October mini-haul! I will be doing a more indepth review for few of the products, so stay tuned!

Love,

Melody

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Aquolina Pink Sugar (Eau de Toilette and Hair Perfume) Review

Pink Sugar has a special place in my heart because it’s the first “grown-up” perfume I’ve ever owned.  It’s definitely one of the most popular and distinctive scents out there- when a girl leaves a sweet-smelling trail as she passes by, I can assure you 99% of the time that she was wearing Pink Sugar.

Pink Sugar hair perfume and a pretty-much-gone bottle of the eau de toilette

Product Description

“Stylish and lively, with a distinctive personality, Pink Sugar takes you on a journey through the pleasures and flavors of childhood with a playful blend of vanilla and caramel.”

Other Info

Notes: Bergamot, Sicilian Orange, Raspberry, Fig Leaves, Lily of the Valley, Licorice, Strawberry, Red Fruit, Cotton Candy, Vanilla, Caramel, Musk, Wood, Powder

Packaging

Both the eau de toilette and hair perfume come in tall, slim bottles (the toilette bottle is made of glass, while the hair perfume bottle feels like hard plastic).

Experience

[Toilette review below, hair perfume review under “Other Products”]

Scent

This scent is extremely popular for many reasons. The name “Pink Sugar” is perfect- it smells girly and super sweet. Upon initial spray, a bakery-like aroma fills the air around you; you can clearly smell the vanilla, cotton candy, and caramel notes. And I find that depending who you come in contact with, the opinion of what this “smell” is can change- while wearing this scent, I’ve heard everything from “You smell like marshmallows” to “Something here smells like cupcakes” from guys and girls alike. As the scent develops and dries down, the deeper notes of musk and powder start to come through while still retaining the sweetness from before.

There’s no doubt that Pink Sugar is meant to make you smell like some sort of sugar-laden treat. While some may find that they love gourmand (foodie) scents like this (I personally love them), others may be turned off by the idea of coming off as a walking desert. This candy-like smell can suit all ages, but depending on your taste, you might consider this smell to be too childish.

The main drawback I find with this product not with the product itself, but its popularity. It’s one of the most-rated products on Sephora and I can recognize girls who wear this perfume everywhere I go, especially in school. They all smell delicious, but that’s the problem- they ALL smell delicious. When you wear this scent in public, chances are, another person will also be wearing it and you may not feel as unique. Lately I've stopped using this scent simply because I smelled it all the time.

Application and Staying Power

The staying power of the toilette is incredible; I can still clearly smell the perfume on my skin at the end of the day, and it sometimes sticks to my clothes for the next few days. Take extreme caution as to not bathe yourself in this perfume. Just a few spritzes on the pulse points are definitely enough before it becomes overpowering. Any more and you will definitely give those around you, and yourself, a headache. This scent is quite heavy and is probably best suited for colder months, but can be worn from daytime to nighttime.

Other Products

The hair perfume has the same scent, but slightly fainter and lacking just a little in the depth department compared to the toilette. As a hair product, it doesn’t deliver very much. Alcohol denatured is listed as the first ingredient, so it can be slightly drying, but it contains silicones to “soften hair” and other ingredients for UV protection. The product will weigh down hair if used excessively.

However, the hair perfume can be used solely for the purpose of its scent. It gives the hair a delicious, faint Pink Sugar smell (I find myself sniffing my wads of hair from time to time), and can be spritzed on the body for a lighter but not-as-long-lasting smell than the toilette. I bought this for $15 at Sephora, so if you want to experiment with the scent but don’t want to spend money on an entire bottle yet, I strongly recommend you purchase this.

Final Thoughts

• Very candy-like, young scent
• Will receive comments and compliments
• Extremely popular
• Insanely long staying power
• The toilette is very strong; spritz sparingly
• Better for colder months, can be worn day to night
• Hair perfume fails as a hair product, but succeeds as a fragrant mist
• Hair perfume is a great value
• While the toilette bottle looks pretty on the dresser, due to its high concentration of vanilla scent, the perfume will yellow over time.

Recommend it? Yes and yes.

Rating: Eau de toilette gets a 8.7/10, hair perfume gets a 7.9/10

Love,

Jessica

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